Spitting Image
by Angelikah
Summary: Distraught over the supposed murder of Rebekah, Elijah comes across an orphaned Caroline while leaving Chicago, and he takes her in while he plots to avenge Rebekah's death. When their plan goes wrong, Caroline must bargain with the man she was raised to loathe for the undaggering of her father, neither of them expecting the result. Klaroline with strong Kalijah subplot.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey, everyone! If you follow me on tumblr, you know that I said I wouldn't post this until Diplomacy was done, but it's close enough to being done that I figured this could go up.  
Just so you all know going in, Klaus does not meet Caroline until she is an adult. She grew up with Elijah, and as far as she knows, Klaus is a terrible person that should not be approached under any circumstances. We don't even see Klaus in this chapter. I would say it's more of a prologue, except I don't know any prologues that are over 5k words...  
Thank you so much to Wifey, Sophie, and D for beta work.  
Enjoy!  
-Angie**

* * *

 **Chicago, Illinois - 1929**

He'd killed her.

Or, rather, he'd daggered her and thrown her into the ocean, never to be seen again.

Elijah knew that Niklaus had daggers from very vivid personal experience, but to actually _kill_ their sister? His favorite sibling?  
His brother was clearly beyond redemption.

Elijah fixed his cuffs and checked the mirror one last time before he left the house where he'd been staying. He had outrun Niklaus for now, but who knew how long it would take for his brother to catch up? No. Best to keep moving.

He was walking down the street when he heard it, the shrill scream of a child. He had made a rule for himself long ago that he wouldn't feed from children. Originally women had been included, but there were times when he'd broken it. However, children and pregnant women were off the table (pardon the pun), and he'd never strayed from that ideal.

He also tended to intervene in a situation where a child was in danger if he could, and that was how he found himself in the alleyway with a little girl-probably four or five-bending over a blonde woman, who was lying in a pool of blood on the ground.

"Mommy? Mommy, no."

Elijah was uncertain as to whether he should leave the girl to fend for herself or escort her to an orphanage, when the girl turned around, he found himself struck by the resemblance to Rebekah.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Elijah. And you are?"

"Caroline. Caroline Forbes. Can you help my mommy?"

"I'm afraid there isn't anything I can do for her."

Caroline's eyes filled with tears, and Elijah immediately felt overwhelmed with the loss of his sister, and barely registered that he'd told the girl to come with him. She was looking at him skeptically, tears still streaming down her face. "Are you going to take me home?"

"Are there any other...er...grown-ups at home?'

Caroline shook her head, sniffling. "No."

"No father?"

"Mommy says he's gone on a trip."

Dead, then, most likely. He felt a pang of sympathy as she looked at him with big blue eyes. He felt an irrational sense of responsibility for the child. Her mother had clearly been attacked, and if he left her, the attackers could very well come back for her. He wondered why they left her in the first place.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"Four and a half," she said, pride bleeding into her voice, almost making him smile. He was unsure where this new paternal instinct was coming from. He'd never felt unsure about leaving a child to fend for themselves before, and it had happened a few times over his 959 years of life.

She regarded him with confusion and not a small amount of suspicion, and he wondered if he was only contemplating taking her because he'd lost Rebekah and his brother had betrayed him irreparably. He felt the need for companionship, and having Marcellus around had been pleasant...to a point.

"You will come with me, then."

"Why? I don't know you. Mommy says I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

He felt exasperation creep up in him, and resisted the urge to remind her that her mother was gone, and the option of going with him was far more preferable to living on the streets.

"You remind me of my sister."

"Where is she?"

"My brother killed her."

Caroline frowned. "Oh. I'm sorry."

He smiled slightly. "It is not your fault."

"I know," she said with a small shrug, her reaction honest with no hint of social niceties, as children often were.

They'd have to work on that.

"Will I be safe with you?" she asked, still not moving towards him.

"Yes. I might even go so far as to say that there is no safer place for you to be than with me."

She nodded slowly, and hesitantly moved forward to stand with him. They started walking, and after a few steps, she tripped slightly, grabbing his hand when she regained her balance. "Where are we going?" she asked, apparently completely unruffled, though she didn't drop his hand.

"Home."

* * *

 **Minneapolis, Minnesota - 1932**

"Why are you not married?" Caroline asked curiously, moving her peas around with a fork.

"Why do you ask? And do not play with your food, Caroline. It is unbecoming."

She put her fork down. "I heard Deborah Finch's Mom tell Daisy Baker's Mom that it's unnatural. And she called you handsome."

"Caroline. I asked you not to play with your vegetables. I did not ask you to not _eat_ your vegetables."

She pouted but obligingly stabbed a pea with her fork. "You did not answer my question."

"I am not married because I have no wish to be," he said simply, not bothering to scold her for pouting. He generally attempted to pick and choose which of her habits he wished to stop, simply because reprimanding her for every move she made would do no good.

They would move on to not making impolite facial expressions once she'd mastered table manners.

"Will you ever get married?"

"I cannot say for sure, but most likely not in the near future."

"Why?"

Katerina's smiling face flashed through his mind, and he gave Caroline a sad smile. "I have not found anyone who appeals to me in recent years."

"Recent?" she asked innocently, and he tried not to grimace at how well she caught on.

"I have been in love before. It did not work out," he said shortly.

"Why?"

He had sworn to himself that he would never be dishonest with Caroline, simply because it could cause complications later, and, should he eventually turn her, she had an eternity to discover any lies he told (and to hold a grudge). He had never before been more tempted to break his word to himself.

He dabbed at his mouth and folded up his napkin carefully, setting it on the table. "My brother attempted to kill her, and she fled."

Caroline frowned. "Why did he try to kill her? And which brother? And why didn't you find her later?"

"It was my brother Niklaus."

"The one that I am not allowed to speak of?" she asked a bit petulantly.

"Yes. As for why he tried to kill her, and why I did not find her, both are stories for another time."

That was a neat and convenient loophole to his rule, was it not?

"How long ago was this?"

"Many years."

"Do you still love her?"

"Of course."

"That's very romantic," she said before taking another bite of her peas.

"Perhaps, perhaps not."

"Do you think I'll ever fall in love?"

"I'm sure you will, Caroline. And even if you do not, I'm sure there will be many young suitors who wish that you returned their affections."

She made a face. "I am not sure that I want a suitor."

"Don't make unbecoming facial expressions," he said, making an exception for this particular uncivilized grimace. "And I am sure that time will change your opinion. However, I do agree that now is not the time."

"Yes. May I please be excused?"

"You may."

She slid off of her seat, wandering away to amuse herself, most likely in the library, and he smiled after her. She had been his daughter for barely three years, but he was already well aware that he would most likely be wrapped around her pinky finger for as long as she remained so.

Always and forever.

* * *

 **Portland, Oregon - 1937**

"We are moving _again_?"

"Yes," he said shortly, trying to mentally construct a list of things that must be done before they departed.

"Why must we always leave a place as soon as I am settled?"

"I have told you before, Caroline. Because it is not safe."

"Why not?"

He sighed. "My father is determined to kill me, along with the rest of my siblings. Now that Niklaus and I are the only ones left, he relentlessly searches for us. The best way to stay safe is to change location periodically."

"Does this have something to do with the way your face changes when someone is injured nearby?" she asked.

He froze.

"Or the way you move very quickly when I am frightened?" she continued, seeming to realize she'd discovered something important. "I do not know of any other father who has such abilities, or any other person in general."

"You have noticed."

"I am not unintelligent," she said primly, her badly-concealed indignance almost making him smile.

"Very well. We shall speak of this once we are underway in the automobile."

"All right, then."

She packed more quickly than usual he noticed, and without the normal amount of complaining (though he suspected that had more to do with her age and that she knew she'd be scolded for it). Once they were safely sitting in the vehicle, Elijah at the wheel, having dismissed the servants, she turned to him.

"So, Father. Please explain."

He restrained an undignified sigh, instead launching into the story of how his family had become supernatural, as well as why his brother Niklaus was an untouchable subject. He told her in more detail about his siblings, as well as about witches and werewolves. She listened raptly, her eyes wide with curiosity, and he shouldn't have been surprised that her first question was, "Did you meet any princesses?"

Caroline had accepted his explanation immediately, and very clearly non-judgmentally. She asked an entire stream of questions that did not cease for the entire first day of driving. When they went to dinner, she asked him what his diet consisted of, and if this was why he didn't eat much. She asked him if he had to sleep when they checked into the hotel, and seemed to be too excited to fall asleep herself.

The next morning was filled with questions about what his capabilities were (which he'd honestly expected to be the first subject she'd wanted to know about).

Let it never be said that Caroline Mikaelson would not have made a good interrogator.

Once she seemed to be out of questions, she was silent for a moment, and the question that he'd been half-dreading half-anticipating fell from her lips.

"Will you turn me into a vampire?"

"Do you wish to be turned?" he asked.

"I think I'd like to."

"Well, think about it some more. It is not a choice to be taken lightly. You may make a final decision when you're older."

She hummed in agreement. "How _much_ older?"

"Your eighteenth birthday," he said promptly, having given it a lot of thought over her eight years of life with him.

"All right, then," she said, seemingly satisfied with his answer, before turning to look out the window, silent for the rest of the day.

* * *

 **Atlanta, Georgia - 1942**

"I don't have time to arrange one, Caroline, you know that."

"I don't understand. All of the other girls get to do it!"

"Yes, well, none of them have me for a father."

"What am I supposed to tell them? 'Oh no, I _would_ be having a debutante ball, but my father just doesn't feel like it'?"

"Watch your tone."

"No."

"Caroline!"

Caroline huffed, knowing that she was treading on thin ice but not caring enough to stop herself. "Is this about Uncle Niklaus again?"

"Do not speak his name."

"Oh, what, is it going to magically summon him as though he were the devil?" She was almost positive that she heard her father mumble, 'you'd be surprised', but decided not to comment on it, instead pressing on with, "What's the harm? You said just last year that you think he isn't actively searching for us."

"You'll draw unnecessary attention to our presence here for a meaningless dance that you'll forget within a few years time."

"It's not _just_ a dance–"

"In fifty years you will forget you had even asked."

"Or I'll still remember and be mad at you," she mumbled, stalking off to her room and slamming the door behind her.

So what if it was a bit childish? She sat on her bed and looked out the window, knowing that if she sat here for just long enough…

She smirked as she heard a soft knock on her door. "Caroline."

"Yes?"

Elijah walked inside, closing the door softly behind him and standing by the window, his hands clasped behind his back before turning to her. "Please explain to me without a childish show of temper why this is so important to you. I want to understand your reasoning."

This was what her father did when she wanted something. If she could make a suitable case for it, she got it.

"Linda James has been going on and _on_ about hers for _months._ She's rubbing it in my face."

"Well, Linda James is also going to live life as a human and is satisfied by petty actions to prove how important and special she is compared to everyone else, and you, my dear, know that you are far superior in every way to the peasants that inhabit this city."

"She's not a peasant," Caroline said, her lips twitching into a small smile at her father's attempt to cheer her up. "She's just snobby and rude and thinks she's better than everyone else, and I just want to show her–"

"Why is it so important to you to show her that you're better? Are you not satisfied with your own opinion of yourself?"

This made Caroline pause, and she bit her lip. "I don't know," she admitted. "I just feel like an outsider. I understand that it was necessary to move locations often, and I'm not upset by that, but it gave me little time to make friends. I must confess that I feel a bit lonely."

"And you think that presenting yourself to society and drawing attention to yourself when you will soon depart will help you feel less so?"

"I don't know," she said again, crossing her legs at the ankle and resting her hands in her lap. "I suppose it is a bit petty of me."

He stiffly moved to sit beside her, clearing his throat in a way that she recognized as him attempting to momentarily overcome what she privately thought of as his allergy to emotions. "I...understand you are displeased by the situation, and I will admit that it is not ideal. However, I will not allow you to have a ball."

To be truthful, she didn't really want one anymore, so she nodded, knowing that he was about to give a counteroffer.

"I was planning on informing you this evening that we must leave again in the near future, and this seems as good a time as any."

"We're leaving again?"

"Yes. Originally I intended to stay in this country until the end of this human war, as I did not want to cause a large change in your life when you are so close to adulthood."

"Originally?"

"Yes. You have been pestering me for years about visiting Europe," he began, and she felt her heart swell. She'd always wanted to travel, but he'd insisted that unless they were in danger he did not want to uproot her too much. "I trust that is still the case, despite the debatably undesirable living conditions?"

"Yes," she agreed, trying not to sound too excited, though she knew she'd failed at his faint smile.

"Perhaps you could give some thought as to where you'd like to settle?"

"I don't understand," Caroline said slowly, thinking that his offer was too good to be true. "You are willing for us to _move_ to a place in Europe of my choosing in exchange for me not having a debutante ball?"

"Yes," he said, looking a bit bewildered. "Is that not a satisfactory exchange?"

She blinked. He seemed to have outrageously overestimated how much she wanted the ball, but she wasn't going to complain. "More than," she said, a smile spreading across her face. "Thank you, Father."

Elijah had certain quirks, one of which was a strong dislike of touch. However, he often was willing to put it aside for Caroline, who attacked him with what he considered to be a rather uncivilized display of affection.

A hug.

* * *

 **London, England - 1943**

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

If you had asked him a year ago, he would have said that Caroline was a thousand times more likely to get cold feet when the time came for her to actually transition than he would, but he had been proven wrong a hundred times over in the last week alone.

Caroline gave him an exasperated look. "Yes, Father. I'm very sure."

"All right, then. Are you comfortable?"

She sat up against her pillows stacked against the headboard and nodded. He bit his wrist and offered it to her, watching with some trepidation as she latched onto it, sucking twice before pulling back, some of his blood smeared on her cheek.

He wiped it away with his handkerchief. "Last chance, my dear."

"Do it," she said, her jaw setting.

He closed his eyes and reminded himself that she would return in just an hour or so. That he was not killing her permanently. Yet, there was that little doubt in his mind that shouted that by some twist of nature she could be different. But that was ridiculous, he reminded himself. He opened his eyes and looked at his daughter, who met his eyes impatiently.

He reached out and snapped her neck, his heart breaking as she slumped against her pillows. He brushed her hair back and moved her so that she'd be more comfortable when she awoke. He did not want to leave her in this condition, even though he knew it would take time for her to wake, and so he rushed to find the nearest human, compelling them to slit their palm with a knife and pouring their blood into a cup before he compelled them to forget and continue their lives as normal.

As he sat by her bed, glass of blood next to him while he nervously twisted his fingers, he couldn't help but wonder how she'd change when she became a vampire. He loved her as any father loved their child (or any _good father_ at any rate), and he felt that he'd raised her quite well. She was optimistic, compassionate, and polite, and he wondered if those qualities would be strengthened when she transitioned. Would she become more of a perfectionist than she currently was (if that was even possible, though if anyone could accomplish something impossible, it would be Caroline)? Would she still remain as warm and kind as she was now?

He reflected once again that though she looked quite a bit like Rebekah, their personalities were so incredibly different that it was no small wonder that he'd associated them in the first place (though he thanked whatever deity was responsible every single day). He loved his sister, but he remembered that an older witch told him once that she didn't know what love was until she'd had a child, and despite Caroline's late entrance to his life, he found it to be true. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Caroline's sharp intake of breath in front of him.

"Father?" she asked quietly, her eyes still tightly shut (something he'd advised before he turned her so that she wouldn't have the overwhelming rush of sensation that many vampires had when they first transitioned).

"Caroline, how are you feeling?"

"Thirsty," she croaked, her voice scratchy.

"Sit up, my dear," he said, moving to support her as she moved against the pillows, but she shook him off impatiently, pulling herself up. "Would you like something to drink?"

He could tell that she was about to talk back to him, but seemed to restrain herself at the last moment, simply pursing her lips and holding out her hand for the cup.

He handed it to her and watched the veins creep out from her cheeks, her fangs descending as she gulped the liquid greedily, licking her lips. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled at him, her blue eyes shining with happiness as her fangs retracted.

"Do you feel better?"

"Yes. Could I have some more, please?"

He laughed quietly. "Perhaps later. I would like to show you how to feed without killing. Right now, though, let us move to the drawing room. I have taken the liberty of clearing the furniture away."

"Why?"

"I would like to teach you to fight."

"Fight? Do you mean physical fighting?"

"Yes."

"That's not very proper for a young lady," she said teasingly, repeating the phrase he used often when she wanted to do something uncouth, such as wearing trousers or speaking rudely in public.

"Well, being a vampire is not very proper, either."

"I suppose not. All right, then. Am I meant to fight in this dress?"

"Well, as you will not constantly be wearing trousers, I would like you to learn to fight in the clothes you will be wearing when you are most often in danger."

"And I suppose you wouldn't just let me wear trousers?"

"I truly do not understand why you would want such a thing."

"Of course you don't. You are old-fashioned and refuse to wear anything but suits in public."

"It is natural for me to be old-fashioned, my dear."

"Yes, because you're _old_."

"I will wait for you outside while you freshen up."

He turned quickly to leave so that he wouldn't see her answering eye-roll.

Impertinent facial expressions were one of the only things she and Rebekah had in common.

* * *

 **Madrid, Spain - 1949**

"Hello. Can I help you?" Caroline asked politely to the woman on the doorstep.

"I'm here to see Elijah," the woman said, pushing past her, heels clicking on the wooden floor as her long brown hair floated behind her.

"All right, well, he's not here right now. Would you like some tea or water? Something else?"

The woman was clearly a vampire, and probably an older one from the way she carried herself. She gave Caroline a cursory up-and-down glance before sniffing haughtily and turning away. "When will he be back?"

"I don't know," Caroline said slowly, mentally reviewing all of the possible escape routes.

The other girl turned around again, her lip curling. "Who are you anyway, the maid?"

"No. My name is Caroline Mikaelson," she said quietly, still trying to evaluate how much of a threat Mystery Woman was, whose eyes suddenly narrowed in fury.

"You little bitch," she hissed, her hand closing around Caroline's throat as she slammed her against the wall.

Caroline struggled under the grip of the brunette, flashing her fangs, before throwing the other girl off. "Who are you, and why are you attacking me in my home?"

"Katherine Pierce."

When Caroline frowned, unable to place the name, Katherine looked even more angry. "Oh, so he hasn't even spoken of me? Some epic love he is."

"Katerina?" her father's voice came from behind her, shocked and slightly angry.

Caroline whirled on him. "Wait, _this_ is Katerina?"

"Oh, so you have heard of me?" Katherine—Katerina?—asked haughtily before turning to Elijah. "Moved on, have you?"

Elijah's lips quirked. "Katerina, this is my daughter, Caroline."

"Daughter?" Katherine asked, unimpressed.

"Yes. Why are you here, Katerina?"

"I came to see you," she said, her throaty voice suddenly dripping with affection.

"And what if you are caught by Niklaus?"

"He's across the world, Elijah. I checked," Katherine said, walking up to Elijah and cupping his face. Elijah stiffened before leaning into the touch, and Caroline felt the need to gag.

"I'll just leave you, shall I?" Caroline asked awkwardly, moving to the doorway.

"Please," Katherine snapped, just as Elijah told her to wait.

"What is it?"

"Come here," he said gently, disentangling himself from Katherine, who pouted. "Caroline is very important to me, Katerina. She is my daughter, and part of my family. I never want to see you hurt her again. Is that clear?" he asked, his voice firm as he laid a hand on Caroline's shoulder.

Katherine gave him an elegant shrug. "If that's what you want."

"Indeed. Do not make me choose, Katerina. You will not like the result."

Katherine narrowed her eyes. "Is that so?"

"It is. Now, introduce yourself again, please."

"Katherine Pierce," she said, holding out her hand, palm down, as though expecting Caroline to kiss it.

Luckily, Caroline had quite a lot of experience with unpleasant women, and knew exactly how to put the other girl in her place.

"Caroline Mikaelson. It's lovely to finally meet you, _Katerina_. I do hope that if there's anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable before you leave again, you will tell me," she said, a smile frozen on her face as she kept her hands determinedly clasped in front of her, not even reaching for the other girl's hand, who dropped hers with a raised eyebrow.

"I would have thought a child of yours would have turned out more polite," Katherine said, not even looking at Elijah as she spoke.

Before Elijah could answer, Caroline cut in. "I would have thought a woman my father had loved once would have been a bit more refined than the common peasant, but occasionally things are not what we expect, are they?" Caroline said coldly before sweeping out of the room, not bothering to wait for Katerina's response, or her father's inevitable reprimand.

When she realized a few days later that Katerina had no intention of leaving anytime soon, and the other girl refused to be the least bit civil despite Caroline's repeated attempts to mend the schism resulting from their initial meeting, she decided to subtly encourage her a bit. Caroline was no stranger to sex at all, and though she knew her father preferred to look the other way (as most fathers did, she presumed), he often pointedly left some enchanted sage and a pack of matches for her on her dresser whenever she was going out for the night.

However, as far as she knew, he's never had the need to use it himself (and she preferred not to know). This presumed knowledge was thrown out the proverbial window later than week when she heard giggling and a thump of a body hitting the door of her father's room, followed by a loud moan, and Caroline huffed, throwing her book on the floor of her bedroom and marching down the hall, banging on the door.

Her father opened it a moment later, dressed in his normal silk pajama set, looking absolutely mortified when Caroline glared at him, feeling her veins emerge on her face. Katerina sat up from the bed, apparently not having even bothered to cover up at all. "Either use sage, or find a hotel like most men do for their whores. I have no wish to hear my father's sexual activities."

"Do not speak of Katerina that way, Caroline," he said, his voice low and dangerous.

"And why not? She has been nothing but rude to me throughout the time that she has stayed here despite my attempts to reconcile after our initial meeting. Though you told her to address me with respect, she has done nothing but belittle me and purposefully rearrange my belongings to enjoy the anxiety having things out of order instills in me. I am not so blind as to pretend that you have been celibate all of my life, but I do ask that you not make me listen, especially when you are having relations with someone so unpleasant," she said, emotion welling up in her voice.

"I am sorry, my dear," her father said, pulling her into a rare hug and stroking her hair. "I did not mean to neglect you. Katerina will only stay for another week, and then she must be off somewhere else."

"No, I do not care whether she stays or goes. You have your life, Father, and I have mine. I just ask that I do not have to _hear_ you and her...living," Caroline said awkwardly with a curl of her lip.

Elijah's lips twitched. "Whether you wish for her to be here or not will be irrelevant after next week, though I would prefer you to be on good terms," he said, raising his voice to indicate to Katherine that she was included in the expectation that they would behave.

"Yes, Father."

"Perhaps once Katerina leaves we can go on holiday? The south of France is lovely this time of year."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her father's habit of making up for something undesirable to her with material possessions or vacations seemed to be his strategy for when she was upset, and she wasn't sure how well that reflected on her.

"I would love that, but I hope you are not offering simply because you wish to make up for this experience. I am an adult, and perfectly capable of handling unpleasant situations without needing to be rewarded for it."

He smiled indulgently, and she felt a flash of annoyance creep up in her. "Of course, my dear. Think of it as an early birthday present, then."

She had the distinct urge to scream at his condescension, but dropped it for the moment, simply nodding and standing on her toes to press a kiss against his cheek. "Goodnight, Father."

"Goodnight," he said, closing the door softly.

She waited until she smelled the pungent odor of burning sage before returning to her room, hoping that Katherine's visit would be over sooner rather than later.

* * *

 **Lake Geneva, Switzerland - 2010**

"Caroline?"

"Yes, Father?" Caroline called, speeding across the house to the study.

"I have just received a call from one of my associates saying that they've located the doppelganger."

"The one Uncle Niklaus will use to break his spell?"

Elijah nodded. "The very same. She is in Mystic Falls, Virginia."

"Your birthplace?"

"Yes. I would like you to pack your things. We'll depart on the aeroplane tomorrow morning."

"But Father, I just made plans with Lara to see the new Harry Potter movie."

"They have Harry Potter movies in the United States, Caroline. You may see it there."

"But not with Lara."

He closed his eyes briefly as if in pain. "Caroline, you are eighty-five years old. I think that you can handle a change in your weekend plans."

"May I follow you on Monday instead? It's not as though he'll be able to break it until later this month, anyway. The full moon isn't for weeks."

"Fine. Contact Lara and inform her that you must depart for a family vacation on Monday. I will book a ticket for you."

"Will we be returning soon?"

"Soon enough that we can keep our belongings here. I will store them in the basement and we'll put the house for rent."

"All right."

Her father's phone beeped and he pulled it out, frowning slightly before passing it to Caroline. "What on earth does this stand for?"

"'O.M.G'. means 'Oh my god'. Who's Rose?"

"The associate that informed me of the doppelganger's return. And I fail to see the need for these abbreviations. Text messaging is useful, I'll admit, but I believe that it invites a lack of decorum and respect for the English language that a phone call or in-person visit does not."

"You're a fossil," Caroline mumbled.

"So you say, my dear."

"How long will we be in Mystic Falls?"

"As long as it takes to kill Niklaus, I suppose. We must first assess the situation of the citizens in the town, as well as earning the trust of the doppelganger, and I will need your assistance for that."

Caroline frowned before it dawned on her what he meant, and she shook her head. "No...Oh, no. No, I am not going to attend a _human_ high school."

"It is necessary."

"It's ridiculous," she mumbled.

"This is not a negotiable deal, my dear. You will do this because it will ensure your safety."

She huffed. "Fine, then. But I'll need to go shopping for new clothes. These are not appropriate for a high school. They have 'dress codes', do they not?"

"I would assume so. Though I cannot pretend I will not be thankful for their requirements that your clothes not show so much skin."

"I am simply enjoying the evolution of fashion, Father. These are _much_ more comfortable than dresses and skirts."

"So you say, my dear."

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter.  
I know I might get some questions about this, so I just want to say that Caroline is still with Elijah after that many years because he's an Original and has enemies, and would want to keep her in his general vicinity. This lack of independence will come up again later on in the story, and there should also be a few more flashbacks. By majority vote, and by 'majority' I mean 'unanimous', there will be a heavy Kalijah subplot in this, which is why it is also marked as a Kalijah pairing. It will still be Klaroline-centric though.**

 **Please, _please_ let me know your initial thoughts on this. The only way that I know what you like/didn't like is by you submitting a review to tell me, and reviews really encourage me to write, and also help me improve as a writer. What do you think about Elijah as a parent? Do you think the relationship between Caroline and Katherine will improve? Are you excited for their visit to Mystic Falls? Do you have a favorite part or line? Please tell me what you think!**

 **Hugs!  
-Angie**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just so everyone knows, "present" time is right before the Masquerade Ball in Season 2. In this story, Rose contacted Elijah before kidnapping Elena. Pretty much everything else is canon-compliant up to that point, and it will run along the canon timeline with a few changes until it diverges.  
Thank you to Wifey, D, Sophie, and Laine for beta work (especially to Laine and D for the ideas about the shopping expedition).  
Enjoy!  
-Angie**

* * *

 **Richmond, Virginia - Present**

"I simply do not understand why my presence is required."

"Because I'm doing you a favor, and therefore you are providing me with your credit card."

"I am sure you are perfectly capable of handing the card to the cashier and signing the receipt, my dear."

"No one goes to the mall alone. It's a group activity," Caroline said. "And besides, I need someone to carry my bags."

"Surely you can handle that with your considerable vampire strength."

"Strength, yes. Arm space for bag handles, not so much."

He saw her suppress a smile as his eye twitched. "I raised you better than to use the embarrassment to the English language that is the current teen vernacular."

"Oh, that reminds me, you're 'Dad' now," she said cheerfully, clearly intending on taking advantage of every aspect of contemporary adolescence that she could to annoy him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"No one says 'Father' anymore, it's weird."

"I refuse to be addressed by such an...an _uncivilized_ title."

She shrugged. "I'd say I'm sorry, but…"

"Caroline, it seems as though you are purposefully attempting to attract my ire."

She gave him a winning smile. "So, ready to go?"

Twenty minutes later, he wondered why he ever bothered having a daughter.

Perhaps that was a bit dramatic, but the mall was loud, and full of rude adolescents, and the scents from the 'food court' were mildly nauseating.

There were malls in every other country they'd traveled to, of course, but he had not been forced to shop, and he was beginning to regret his indulgence of his daughter's whims.

They went to the department store first, and Elijah managed to sit through the hour and a half of "Do you think these heels are school appropriate?" and "Is this cashmere too sophisticated for a seventeen year old, do you think?" before he asked her to bring her items to the register so that they could gather their things from the hotel in Richmond and drive the rest of the way to Mystic Falls.

The look on her face was faintly terrifying, and she shook her head. "Oh, Dad. We're just getting staples. We still have to get my every day clothes."

 **XXX**

Caroline couldn't remember having this much fun in quite awhile. They left the department store with shopping bags and she immediately zeroed in on the telltale blue arches and acrid smell of Abercrombie & Fitch. She walked towards it, and Elijah followed her, wrinkling his nose as they approached.

"What is that?"

"The what?" she asked, knowing perfectly well what.

"That stench."  
"That's cologne, Dad."

"Why would anyone use such a scent?"

Caroline shrugged. "I don't question the habits of teenage boys, and you probably shouldn't either."

She smirked when he curled his lip in disgust at the portraits of the male models hanging around the store, and quickly went to work picking out the shortest shorts she could find, shoes, and a t-shirt, and heading into the dressing room, ignoring Elijah's raised eyebrow at her choices. She came out to use the threeway mirror, and as soon as she stepped out of the cube, she heard a very firm, "No."

"Excuse me?"

"Those expose the lower section of your derriere. Even if I were not already incredibly uncomfortable by the sight, I doubt that it would be acceptable according to any school dress code whatsoever."

"I don't dress to keep you comfortable, _Dad_. I'm an adult, and if I want to expose my ass–"

"Language."

"As I said, I'm an _adult_. My ass is mine to expose. Or cover. Whatever."

His eye twitched. "I agreed to buy you school clothes. Those are not school clothes."

She shrugged. "Fine. I'll buy them with my own money."

"You're acting like a temperamental adolescent–"

"Which is the role you're forcing me to play. Consider this practice. I'm going to buy these shorts _and_ these shoes, and you can't stop me. I'd slam the door to the changing room if I didn't think I'd knock it off by accident in my show of imaginary anger."

"I shall await you outside."

"Fine," Caroline said with a careless shrug, marching back into the fitting room.

When she walked out of the store ten minutes later, her father motioned for her to walk beside him. "I have found a more appropriate store."

She had a niggling feeling that it would end up being Land's End or something, but was almost pleasantly surprised when they ended up in front of American Eagle. He gestured to the models on the large posters. "These appear to be young high-school aged women, and the clothes are apparently considered stylish by the youth of this time period. I suggest we peruse your options here."

Caroline shrugged and walked in, heading straight to the sundresses, and was interrupted a moment later by Elijah tapping her on the shoulder. She turned and immediately shook her head.

"Those don't even match."

"Everything goes with denim. It's a neutral."

She looked pointedly at his suit. "You have never worn jeans in your life. And no. At least, not with blue. Those jeans aren't even my size, anyway. They'd be baggy."

He frowned at the outfit in his arms and wandered off, ostensibly to return the items to the appropriate racks. She sighed and shook her head, turning back to the clothes in front of her.

Three hours later, they were exiting the mall, Elijah laden down with shopping bags, and Caroline with a Victoria's Secret bag (that Elijah had narrowly avoided carrying by hiding in the coffee shop) and a milkshake.

"I'm so excited! I don't think I've actually been to high school since the seventies, have I? I wonder how everything's changed."

She knew that her father was tuning out her chatter, but didn't mind, as it was much more fun to insert random statements in to see if he caught them. "They probably didn't change the history curriculum. Do you think they talk about the great war between the platypi and the chipmunks to take over the wastelands of Neptune?"

He gave a predictable hum of affirmation, and she grinned, humming to herself as he unlocked the car and put her bags in the trunk. "Thanks for taking me to the mall."

"You're welcome," he said dryly, closing the trunk of the mercedes and gesturing for Caroline to get into the passenger seat.

"So, you told Rose not to take the girl, right?"

"That's correct. Her orders are simply to linger in town and observe. Your primary job will be to ingratiate yourself with the girl and her friends. She has told me that there are three vampires already residing here."

"So wait, why am I supposed to be friends with the girl-Her name is Elena, right? Okay, why am I supposed to make friends with Elena? Why couldn't Rose just have taken her? Isn't she human?"

"I have my reasons," Elijah said simply.

Caroline side-eyed him before it dawned on her what it meant. "You think that Katerina's here."

He remained silent, and Caroline took that as an affirmative. She sniffed haughtily. "Well, I hope our house is big enough that if you soundproof your room I still won't hear the thumps."

He winced. "I purchased a small suburban home. It will be much less conspicuous than if we moved into a large mansion when there were only two of us. We shall cause enough gossip as it is, I'm sure."

"Okay," Caroline said, staring out the window.

"I appreciate your help, my dear," Elijah said slowly, shooting her a small, genuine smile.

She shot him a slightly exasperated look, giving him a small smile. "We're family, father. Family helps family. Always and forever."

"Always and forever," he repeated, patting her hand lightly before returning it to the wheel.

* * *

 **Mystic Falls, Virginia - Present**

"It's just the start of the Spring Semester, of course, so I'm not sure that the dance team has spots, but I'm sure Caroline will be very happy here regardless," the principal said, shuffling some papers as he smiled kindly at Elijah and Caroline.

"I'm sure that they'll be able to find a spot," Elijah said lightly, laying a hand on Caroline's shoulder.

The Doppelganger, or "Elenaganger" as Caroline had taken to calling her privately, was captain of said dance team.

"I'm fairly sure that the roster is full, but–"

"Caroline may have a fair try-out, I'm sure, and when the captain sees how good she is, she'll take the spot of the least skilled dancer," Elijah said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world (which Caroline suspected that to him, it was). He'd never had much patience for people telling Caroline 'no', especially when he also wanted whatever she was after, and she knew he was this close to compelling the principal.

Sure enough, he leaned forward. "You will agree to my proposal."

The principal frowned, not looking the least bit compliant. "I'm sorry sir, but I don't see why the rules should be bent."

Caroline shrugged. She'd find another way to meet Elena, but Elijah seemed set on her getting a spot on the team. "It's all right, Daddy," she said soothingly, and she saw Elijah practically choke on whatever words he was about utter, shooting her an irritated look and nodding.

"If that is your wish, my dear."

"It's fine. I can always change my mind."

"Well, looking forward to having you here tomorrow, Caroline."  
"Thanks Principal Fell."

She and her father walked out of the school side-by-side, and he frowned. "The principal could not be compelled."  
"Yeah, that was weird."

He pressed his lips together. "It seems the situation is a bit more complicated than we assumed."

"I guess so."

He opened the passenger door for her and she slid inside, twisting her hands in her lap. Was vervain available in the town? How many people were on it? Did the people know about vampires?

She voiced her concerns to Elijah, who pressed his lips together in thought. "It's possible. It would be the work of the vampires here, I suppose, though I wonder why they'd feel the need to protect the humans."

Caroline shrugged, looking out the window. "Can we be serious for a few minutes?"

The question was a pointless one, as her father was never anything less than serious, but it did let him know that she wasn't joking, which was really the important thing.

"What is on your mind?"

Caroline sighed. "I understand that the doppelganger is important, and I know that Uncle...well, _your brother_ is attempting to break the curse he's been under for a thousand years. The thing is, I don't understand why you couldn't have just killed him. Why now?"

"There are multiple reasons. The first is that if we do not strike now, he will be nearly invincible once the ritual is complete. The second is that he is much more vulnerable while under the ritual than at any other time."

"So, the plan is to kill him while he's weakened by the ritual?"

"Yes. He will be weak during the phase of the ritual where the curse is being removed from his body. At that point I will kill him."

"And you're sure you'll be able to do it?" Caroline asked nervously. "Don't you love him?"

"I do. He is my brother."

"Then how–"

"Because I also loved Rebekah, Kol, and Finn," he said simply.

Caroline let out a shaky breath. "You'll be the only one left in your entire family," she whispered.

"Not at all, my dear. I'll have you."

She shook her head, feeling her throat close up at the stabbing combination of the genuine, heartfelt tone of the words and the sheer low-grade children's movie content of them.

"That is the most cliché thing I have heard in my entire life."

"Are you sure? Your life's been rather long."

"Not as long as yours, father. You're already the oldest person in the world," she said, half-teasing, her smile falling when he shot her an uncomfortably stern look. "What?"

"There's something you should know, Caroline."

She froze. Bringing out her full name was _never_ a good sign. "What?"

They pulled into the driveway of their tiny suburban home, and she sat down on the couch, smoothing the skirt of her dress and looking at him expectantly. "What's going on, Father?"

She steeled herself for whatever horrible life-altering truth was about to come out.

"I know that I have always told you that I would never lie to you, Caroline, and that has so far been the case. I have, however, omitted certain things that you did not need to know of, and considering that a great deal of my animosity towards Niklaus has to do with this, well..."

"Well?" Caroline prompted impatiently.

"Our father...Well, technically _my_ father, though Niklaus was raised by him...Well, I have told you the tale of my mother's betrayal before, I suppose, but you see…" he trailed off, looking like he was at a bit of a loss as to how to continue, and Caroline resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Just tell me. Please."

"Mikael is alive."

Caroline nodded slowly. "Your father? Who's been trying to kill you for a thousand years? That father?"

Elijah nodded. "Yes. That father, although I wasn't aware that I had another."

"This isn't funny."

"I'm aware."

"Well, where is he?"

"I do believe that the mother of a student here, Abigail Bennett, desiccated Mikael and locked him in a coffin not far from here."

Caroline frowned. "So what's the problem?"

"There isn't one. Yet."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

"Well, if I were to reinforce your misconception that I was the oldest being in the world, that would have qualified as dishonesty, and as I have promised to always tell you the truth, I felt that-Do not roll your eyes at me, Caroline."

Her lips twitched and she hugged Elijah, who stiffened and then patted her lightly on the back (it had been more than eighty years, and he still "didn't do" hugs), before pulling away. "Thank you for being honest with me, Father. Next time, can you please not act like you're about to drop some life-altering truth bomb on me?"

"You are very welcome," he said, looking vaguely amused. "Truth bomb?"

"I'm trying to be hip with the kids," she said teasingly, giving him a small helpless shrug and turning to walk up the stairs, ignoring his soft chuckle from behind her.

It didn't occur to her until an hour or two later that he hadn't told her exactly _how_ he was planning to kill his brother, but she decided that it probably didn't matter.

After all, with their combined anal-retentiveness when planning something, it would basically be 100% foolproof.

Niklaus Mikaelson would be dead by the next new moon.

 **XXX**

Caroline closed her new locker, straining her ears for any interesting snippets of conversation or gossip while she walked to her first period class.

In order to be near Elena, but less conspicuous, Caroline had been placed in most of the same classes, but not all.

Amber Jensen, one of the girls on the dance team whose father worked for a private accounting firm was offered a promotion by a headhunter that was too good to pass up as long as they moved immediately.

Elijah may or may not have had something to do with it.

Anyway, Caroline was fairly sure that try-outs for a replacement would be held very soon, and she had every intention of making it on the team. First though, she had to ingratiate herself with Elena, as well as the girl's circle of friends.

She had smiled hesitantly at Elena that morning in class and approached her after the bell rang.

"Hi. I'm Caroline. Caroline Forbes," she said, inwardly wincing at the use of her birth name (but it was necessary to keep her from being connected to the Originals).

"Elena Gilbert. This is Bonnie Bennett," Elena introduced, gesturing to the girl next to her, who gave her a small smile, which Caroline returned.

 _Fuck_.

If Bonnie Bennett was best friends with Elena Gilbert, that meant that the witch could easily get a read on her if they touched skin to skin. "It's nice to meet you," Caroline said, a smile plastered on her face. "Do you know where U.S. History is? It's my next period."

"Yeah. We're in that class, actually. You can walk with us."

"Okay. Thanks."

Elena gave her a large smile, though Bonnie shot her a suspicious glance before following her friend towards the history class. The teacher, Alaric Saltzman, seemed nice enough, and Caroline was slinging her backpack over her shoulder to head to her car after her last class when Elena tapped her on the shoulder.

"I know it can be hard moving to such a small town. The annual Masquerade Ball is this Friday, and we were all planning on going together. I'm happy to introduce you to everyone?"

"Sounds great," Caroline said, smiling, before letting her face fall.

Elena cocked her head to the side. "Is everything okay?"

"Is the ball super fancy? I don't think I have a dress."

Bonnie and Elena exchanged small smiles. "Well, we could go shopping tomorrow after school?"

"That would be great," Caroline said happily. "Thank you so much!"

Maybe this would be easier than she'd thought.

 **XXX**

"Father?"

Elijah looked up from his book as Caroline walked in, setting her bag by the door. "Yes, Caroline?"

"There's a Masquerade Ball on Friday, and the doppelganger asked me to attend with her and her friends."

"That sounds like it may be a trap."

"Or she's simply naive," Caroline countered.

"Perhaps. I assume this means that you need a dress?"

"We're going shopping together tomorrow after school."

She suppressed a smile when she saw the flash of relief pass over Elijah's face as he pulled out his wallet, rifling through his cards before pulling one out and handing it to her. "Please refrain from buying something exorbitantly expensive. We are, after all, trying to, ah... _fly under the radar_."

"Why, _father_ , did you just use 'uncouth adolescent slang'?" Caroline asked in mock surprise, sticking her nose in the air and adopting a snooty accent for the last few words.

"You are not the only one who wishes to be up to date with contemporary vernacular."

"If you say so, Daddy."

He scoffed, making a shooing motion with his hand, and she kissed his cheek and walked up the stairs.

"Do you not have homework?"

"Nothing I can't do in a few minutes tomorrow. It's French and a few worksheets."

"Perhaps you should take care of it now, so as not to have it hanging over your head for the rest of the night."

"You're taking this 'Dad' thing really seriously, aren't you?"

"If you insist on acting like a common teenager, I insist on acting like the parent of one."

"Whatevs."

She saw the slow turn of his head to face her, and instead of preparing herself for what she privately had named her father's You're Acting Like A Peasant Stare, she sped up the stairs and flopped onto her bed, grabbing her laptop to email Lara, her witch friend who was still in Switzerland.

 _Hey Lar,_

 _Finally got settled in Virginia. I should be back by next month, and if I'm not I can compel you a flight here if you'd like. The local high school is throwing a masquerade party, and I'm going shopping with the Bennett witch and Elenaganger tomorrow for a dress._

 _Sorry about ditching on the movie. Should still be out next month, right?_

 _xoxo_

 _-Care_

 **XXX**

"What are you _doing_ here?"

Caroline squeezed her eyes shut, counted to ten, and hoped that it was just Elenaganger mistaking her for someone else that she hated before slowly turning around.

Nope. Elena would never wear that dress. Ever.

"Katerina," Caroline greeted warily.

"It's Katherine, and I asked you a question, sweetpea."

"I'm here because Father brought me here to stop his brother."

"Elijah wants to kill Klaus?"

"No, he wants to give him a hug, buy him a pastry, and forgive him for killing the rest of their family," Caroline said sarcastically.

"Wouldn't put it past him, to be honest," Katherine muttered, making Caroline huff and roll her eyes.

"Look. I just need to know why you're here."

"Keeping an eye on Elenaganger."

Katherine raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Funny. For once. Who knew?"

"Bitch."

"Thank you," Katherine said, her smile all teeth. "So, what do you say we work together on this sweetpea? Or interests align. I want Klaus dead, Elijah wants Klaus dead, we're on the same team."

"Yeah, until someone else makes you another offer and you leave to save your own ass," Caroline spat bitterly.

"Oh, is someone still a little bit sensitive about that?"

"You took off in the middle of the night without telling Father where you were going. He was devastated."

"You should've been happy. You've always hated me."

"Father doesn't. He would have protected you."

"No, sweetpea. He would have protected _you_. And you know my motto."

"Yeah. Save your traitorous, slutty ass before anyone else."

"Hey now, let's not point fingers here, little girl. There is nothing wrong with having a healthy sex life, and there is _also_ nothing wrong with having a decent sense of self-preservation."

"Using sex as a weapon is wrong."

"In your opinion. But, even if you're right, which you aren't, it's better to be wrong and alive than a dead saint. And anyway, that's not exactly how I'd put my attitude toward life."

"Fine, how would you say it? Because pretty sure mine was just about spot-on."

Katherine pressed her lips together, her eyes shooting daggers. "Better you die than I. But really, let's get back to the matter at hand. Seeing Klaus die benefits both of us, so let me help."

"And let you break my father's heart again? Hardly."

"It would be a lot easier for him if he'd just stop rebuilding it," Katherine said, her throaty voice cold. "And either way, if Klaus dies, I'll stay."

Caroline shifted her gaze to the other woman and laughed. "That is the most bold-faced lie I've ever heard."

"If Klaus is dead, I have no reason to leave. Despite what you seem to believe, I love your father. I always have. I probably always will. The reason I run is because his brother tries to kill me every time I settle. If he dies, there's no reason to run. Not anymore." Caroline narrowed her eyes, and Katherine huffed. "You don't believe me, do you? Well, let me put it this way. Worst case scenario, Klaus dies and I'm lying and run off again, leaving your father no worse off than he was before. Best case scenario, Klaus dies, and I don't run off. I stay. Like I always promised."

"No, worst case scenario is that you betray us," Caroline said quietly.

Katherine gave Caroline a small shrug of her shoulders, tossing her hair. "Fine, don't believe me. Either way, Klaus will die."

Caroline bit her lip, considering Katherine's offer. The other woman was right, and both of them knew it. All Caroline had to do was put her pride aside and allow her to help them. And really, though Caroline didn't know the details, she did know that the situation was serious enough that they'd need all the help that they could get.

She might even score some points with her father in the process if she wrangled Katherine onto their side, which was always handy for when she wanted something and the pouty lips and puppy eyes didn't get the desired results.

"Fine. What's the plan?"

"Saint Elena is here, I found out that Tyler Lockwood is an untriggered wolf, I'm planning on taking care of that tonight, and I'll have the moonstone in my possession. The only thing missing would be–"

"A vampire," Caroline finished. "And this town seems to have quite a few spares."

"That it does," Katherine agreed, a small smile curling her face. "All we have to do is keep them alive until Klaus arrives. It shouldn't be too difficult, the Salvatore boys are obsessed with her."

Caroline nodded, filing away that bit of information for later. "So, priority order is Elenaganger, the werewolf boy, and a vampire."

Katherine nodded. "So, why don't you go keep the girl busy, and I'll go trigger us a werewolf."

Caroline nodded, turning to walk over to Elena, who gave her a huge smile, making Caroline's gut tug at the impending betrayal she was about to perform to what seemed like a perfectly nice teenage girl.

However, if asked to choose between her father and any other person, no matter who they were, she'd choose her father every time.

"Hey, Caroline! I want you to introduce you to a few people. This is my boyfriend Stefan, and his brother Damon," she said, her smile faltering a bit on the second name as she gestured to the two men beside her. Caroline nodded politely.

"It's lovely to meet you."

Damon winked at her, and Caroline felt a bit queasy at the predatory nature of his gaze. She knew that the brothers were vampires, but hoped that there were enough heartbeats in the room to conceal her own vampirism. If there were not, she'd need to think up a story.

In any case, she asked Elena to show her around, and the other girl agreed, taking her arm and leading her off to the hallway, leaving Damon and Stefan standing by the punch bowl.

 **XXX**

"Won't she be back soon?" Katherine gasped out as Elijah pressed her against the wall.

"She has extra-curricular activities after school every day," Elijah said quickly. "I do not wish to speak of Caroline right now, Katerina."

Katherine moaned and nodded as Elijah's lips brushed over her jawline, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist, her head thrown back. "So lovely and wet for me."

He pinched her nipples harshly, his hips moving more quickly as Katherine's gasps of pleasure slowly escalated in volume, and both froze immediately when the front door slammed. "Daddy?"

Elijah's eye twitched, and Katherine suppressed a laugh.

"I see that Caroline has skipped her 'extra-curriculars' in favor of annoying you."

"I am not surprised. She is attempting to irritate me as revenge for my request that she attend the local high school," Elijah said, already buttoning up his shirt and straightening the cuffs.

Katherine pushed herself away from the wall, walking to the bed and pulling on the short silk robe that had been discarded across the comforter, and Elijah opened the door as Caroline approached. "What's the problem, my dear?"

"Just wanted to tell you that Elena invited me over for dinner tonight. I knew that if I didn't come home to tell you in person, you would have sent out a search party."

Katherine walked to see Caroline in a sundress, a backpack slung over one shoulder, and the other girl's lip curled. "Katherine."

"What's your problem? We're supposed to be on the same team, here, remember?" Katherine asked bitingly, and Caroline scoffed, turning on her heel.

"I'll be home late."

"Be safe, my dear."

"Bye, Daddy!" she said, obviously just attempting to annoy him, and she saw Elijah's rare eyeroll.

She probably should have felt privileged. Seeing Elijah roll his eyes was just about as common as seeing a unicorn.

She helped Elijah with his shirt, undoing the buttons again carefully, and reaching down to unfasten his slacks, gripping his halfhard cock in her hand, stroking him slowly.

"You like that?" she asked when his breath caught.

He nodded.

She dropped to her knees, a smirk curling over her face, and swirled the tip of her tongue around his cock, making him groan softly. "Take me in your mouth, Katerina."

"Of course, Daddy."

She had never seen him redress so fast in all their time together, his eyes squeezed tightly shut, and she restrained a genuine bubble of laughter.

"Something wrong?" she asked, sauntering over to him, still nude.

"Yes," he said quietly, rubbing his palms over his eyes.

She pouted, trailing a finger down his chest. "What's wrong, Da-"

"I will gag you," he threatened, and she could tell that he was completely serious, making a stab of arousal hit her in her core.

"That could be fun."

"I didn't mean sexually," he said. "That was a threat."

"Well, mean it sexually and I'll take it as a promise," Katherine said lightly, trailing her fingers up his shirt to stroke his neck, pressing herself against him.

His eyes darkened, and she gave him a smug smirk, moaning as he pushed two fingers inside her still-soaking pussy before he bit her ear.

"Be silent, Katerina," he mumbled, his lips curled into a smile.

"I don't know if I'll be able to."

"I'm sure we can find a way…"

 **XXX**

It was only hours after Caroline had left the house to attend the dinner at Elena's, and after Katherine had announced her intention to dig a bit more on information around the town and left, Elijah had decided to use the time to visit the informants that brought him to Mystic Falls in the first place.

"Rose-Marie," Elijah greeted, lingering in the doorway to the small apartment.

The woman nodded, her eyes cast down in respect as she stood aside to let him enter. "Welcome, Elijah."

"Thank you for the information on the doppelganger. It has been useful."

"You're welcome," Rose said quietly.

"You are pardoned in my eyes, though I cannot say the same for my brother's."

Rose nodded slowly. "I appreciate your leniency in any case."

"Where is Trevor?" Elijah asked abruptly.

"He is in place at the doppelganger's house, awaiting orders to capture the girl."

"There will be no need for that," Elijah said quietly. "Please tell him that his presence is needed here."

"Of course."

Trevor arrived a few minutes later, and Elijah immediately had him pinned to the wall by his throat. Rose screamed, but Elijah ignored her, instead catching Trevor's eye. "You will do whatever is necessary to protect Caroline's life, even if it is certain you will die in the process," he said quietly, and Trevor repeated the orders as the compulsion took hold, looking confused.

"Who is Caroline?"

Elijah's mouth thinned into a stern line. "You failed in protecting Katerina. Let us hope that your track record will be better with my daughter. As for you, Rose-Marie, I would like you to tail Elena Gilbert. Get to know her and those she surrounds herself with. My daughter is already familiarizing herself with the girl and her human friends, but I need you to ingratiate yourself with the Salvatores. My daughter told me moments ago that both brothers seem enamored with the girl, though you may have better luck with Damon, the older brother."

"Better luck in what?"

"Obtaining information. Their habits. Likes. Dislikes. Weaknesses. I will return in two days time, Rose-Marie, and I expect information on these things. Trevor, you will stay in the shed in the backyard of the home I've purchased. Caroline is to be protected at all costs. I shall reinforce the compulsion when we arrive. Is this understood?"

"Yes," Rose said quietly, and Trevor simply nodded.

Elijah's phone vibrated, and he pulled it out, reading over the text from Caroline and suddenly feeling as though he'd been doused in ice.

[Caroline]: Salvatores took Katherine and locked her in a tomb by the falls. I couldn't ask for more info without sounding a bit too curious. Heading home now. Meet me there?

Elijah texted back an affirmative and looked up to see Rose and Trevor looking at him with nervous eyes. "It seems that I am needed at home. Trevor, please accompany me. Remember, Rose-Marie, two days."

"Two days," she repeated, watching him warily as he left with Trevor, closing the door softly behind him.

* * *

 **London, England - Present**

"There's someone here to see you."

Klaus looked up from his drink as he lounged on the couch, his boots resting on the antique coffee table. "Thank you Greta. Please, show them in."

Greta left and returned a few moments later with a young, dark-haired woman, who stood with her hands clasped in front of her, eyes lowered.

"Leave us," he ordered Greta, who nodded and left, closing the door behind her. "What's your business with me?" he asked shortly, giving the woman who'd entered a once over.

"I know where the doppelganger is," she said quietly.

She was pinned against the wall in an instant, Klaus letting his fangs drop. "Tell me what you know."

"Katherine Pierce asked me to bargain with you for her freedom."

Klaus laughed cruelly, letting the woman fall in a heap on the floor. "She did, did she? Where is Katerina?"

"She found the doppelganger, and she wants her freedom in exchange for the girl, the moonstone, a vampire, and a werewolf."

"Does she now?" Klaus asked, his voice soft and dangerous. "And she's sent you to bargain for her?"

"Yes."

He had to hand it to the woman, she was brave. Stupid, but brave.

He grabbed her and pulled her to him, his pupils dilating as the compulsion took hold.

"You're going to answer all of my questions with complete honesty."

She repeated the compulsion back, and he smirked, stepping away and falling back onto the couch, his boots scratching against the priceless coffee table as he carelessly let his feet fall against the surface with a light thump. "Please, take a seat."

The woman did, and he gave her a small dimpled smile, taking another sip of brandy before setting the glass down and narrowing his eyes.

"Well, first thing's first. What is your name, love?"

"Isobel Flemming."

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. What are our thoughts on Elijah and Caroline's relationship? Elijah and Katherine? Katherine and Caroline? Do you think Elijah will be daggered as he was in the show? How do you think this timeline might differ from the one on the show?  
I don't know if I warned you guys before, but this story's going to be a pretty slow burn. Not dragging-it-out slow, but there's-a-lot-of-plot slow.  
Let me know what you think.  
Hugs!  
-Angie**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you to Wifey & Sophie for beta work, and to D, Laine, and cupcakemolotov for general support and awesomeness. I jumped the gun a bit on updating, but I really, really wanted to get this out after I wrote it yesterday. Some dialogue is lifted from S2 of TVD. This is a long chapter, and there's finally some klaroline. I hope that's okay with you guys. ;)**

 ****READ THIS OR YOU MIGHT BE CONFUSED****

 **This chapter might feel a bit rushed, but that's because, as you will see, I have eliminated what was pretty much the entire plot of the second half of season two by having Elijah intervene before Rose takes Elena to see Slater. The ritual takes place on Tyler's first full moon transformation instead of the second, which means that the Martin warlocks aren't dead, Jules & Friends haven't turned up yet, Elena didn't dagger Elijah (therefore fostering more trust between them), and Klaus did not possess Alaric. **

**I should also say, if I haven't already, that this fic will be a slow burn, as well as a bit dark. All the mythology revealed after 2x07 isn't canon unless explicitly stated otherwise, though I will use some things revealed in later seasons. This fic will loosely follow the timeline of TVD for awhile before it mostly diverges.**

 **Enjoy!  
-Angie**

* * *

 **Mystic Falls, Virginia - Present**

Rose took a deep breath and knocked on the door, giving the man who opened it her most winning smile. "Hello, I'm Rose. I'm here as an envoy of Elijah."

"An envoy of who now?"

"Elijah. He's an Original."

"And why would he send you here to talk to little ol' me?"

"I'm actually supposed to talk to Elena, but I was told I'd find her he—"

She was cut off by the man's hand shooting out to bury itself in her chest, and she caught it before he managed it, breaking his wrist. "Cute. Nice try. I was trying to be nice about this, but I'll have to insist that you let me in now. I'm just trying to help."

Twenty minutes later, she was standing next to the man who'd let her in (apparently named Damon), his little brother Stefan perched on an armchair across from the doppelganger, who was sitting on the plush couch, looking a bit overwhelmed.

Frankly, Rose didn't blame her one bit.

The plan was for Rose to tell the girl a slightly altered story about the Originals, hoping that it would scare her a bit less than the real situation. Elijah was to come by and negotiate for a deal with them later. The Original wanted to get the whole business over with as soon as possible, meaning that secrets and lies were to be kept to a minimum unless needed.

The Salvatores and their witch friend had locked Katherine in the cave by the falls, and she was the only other person besides Trevor, Elijah, Caroline, and herself who knew the entire story. "I only know what I've picked up over the years, and I don't know what's true and what's not true. But I do know that I'm right about Klaus."

"Who is he?" Elena asked.

"He's one of the Originals. He's a legend," Damon chipped in before Rose could answer.

"From the first generation of vampires," Stefan added. "Klaus is the oldest."

Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Poor babies. If only they knew that there was an entire family of original vampires.

"So, you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me?"

Probably best that they didn't, judging by the girl's reaction. No use scaring them all witless.

"Yes," Rose said, happy she'd got the point, just as Stefan said "no," as though lying about it would make the girl feel better.

"Well, if what she's saying is true," Damon interrupted.

"Which it is."

"And you're not just saying it so that we don't kill you."

"Which I'm not."

Only so Elijah didn't kill her, and frankly, Damon wasn't exactly on her Murderous Vampire radar.

"Then we're looking at a solid 'maybe'," Damon finished.

God, how did these people do _anything?_

"Look, I've never met anyone who's laid eyes on him. We're talking about centuries of truth mixed with fiction. I mean, for all we know it could be some stupid bedtime story."

"He's real," Rose said decisively, still trying to figure out why they were trying to baby the girl. "He's real, and he won't give up if he wants something. If you're not afraid of Klaus, you're an idiot."

There, that summed it up well, right?

Elena scampered off to school after another minute or so of explanation (by Rose) and denial (by Team Salvatore), brushing off the younger Salvatore's offer to accompany her.

"So, tell me the truth," Stefan said quietly after Elena closed the door.

"I did tell you the truth."

"You left something out. Something big. Who's Elijah? The one who sent you?"

"He's…" Rose started, trying to figure out how to describe it. "He's another Original. A friend. He has his own reasons to want Klaus dead. I'm here to offer you a deal."

"What do you have to offer us?"

"Elena's life," Rose said slowly.

Damon and Stefan looked at each other before sitting down in perfect sync. "We're listening."

 **XXX**

She had _so_ not signed up for this.

"I can't believe I agreed to this. I'm a terrible liar!"

And they were supposed to be in history class. Really, did these kids ever actually _go_ to school?

"It's fine. Just...Keep Stefan busy while I do this," Elena said as she led Caroline down the rocky path to the cave Katherine was locked in, though Caroline wasn't supposed to know that.

"I'm even _worse_ at duplicity."

Okay, _that_ was a lie.

"Look, can't you just do this for me?"

"Why don't you want Stefan to know? And what's the big deal, anyway? Why do you have to go to a random tomb in the middle of the forest?"

"Because he wouldn't be okay with this."

"Isn't that your first clue that you might, I don't know, _not_ want to do this? This place is creepy."

Elena ignored her, and Caroline asked her about ten more times whether she was sure, because Katherine giving her the entire story would be disastrous (and Katherine sold out to the highest bidder, and if the highest bidder was Elena…).

"Caroline, this is where I go when I need time to myself. I miss my parents, and...Look, I just want to be alone, okay? Stefan doesn't like it because there are rock slides sometimes, but I'll be okay."

Caroline had to give her props for the sob story, and nodded as though she believed it.

"Please, Caroline?"

Caroline huffed and nodded. "Why do you need me to come down here? Why couldn't you just have asked me to keep an eye on Stefan?"

"I need your help to move this block. I like to go into the cave."

Caroline resisted the urge to snort, but helped Elena move the rock, trying not to make it too easy, and bid her friend goodbye, jumping silently to a ledge about twenty feet off the ground, out of Elena's sight, but within Katherine's.

"Katherine?" Elena called.

Katherine staggered out from the darkness, and Caroline watched her from her perch, taking a sadistic sense of pleasure in the pallor of her skin.

"Hello, Elena. You've come to watch me wither away?" she asked, her voice hoarse from thirst, her eyes darting up to Caroline on the ledge.

"I can't hurt you, after all," Katherine added, and Caroline knew it was for her benefit rather than Elena's.

However, Katherine hurting Elena was not what Caroline was worried about. Katherine was a lot of things, but stupid was not one of them. She wouldn't hurt Elena before the ritual. She would, however, tell Elena all about Caroline's past, and she couldn't have that.

She shot Katherine a warning look, and the other girl gave an infinitesimal nod to show she understood before Caroline sat back a bit and pulled out her phone.

[Caroline]: Elena's visiting Evil Stepmother in the tomb to ask for the whole story with Klaus. She wants me to distract Stefan while she does it.

[Elijah]: Stay. Ensure Katerina does not overstep the bounds of our agreement.

[Caroline]: I love how you knew that I was talking about Katerina.

[Elijah]: I understand that you are not fond of her, though I do ask that you allow me to live in ignorance of how intense the animosity between you truly is. Rose is keeping the Salvatore brothers occupied.

Caroline tuned back into the conversation in time to hear Katherine offering Elena her blood.

She knew Elena wouldn't take it, but that didn't stop her from being ready to speed in and stop them.

She let out a small sigh of relief when Elena refused, as Caroline had expected, but she stiffened again as Katherine told Elenaganger how to break the curse.

 _Fuck_.

Well, okay, they could work with this. Elena knowing how to break the curse wasn't a huge problem, right? The girl was a martyr, but she wasn't an idiot, as shown by her figuring out the ingredients to the curse.

"Tyler. He's a werewolf now."

"Believe it or not, they're hard to come by."

"And you needed a vampire. Are you going to use Stefan? Damon?"

There was total silence as Katherine paused, and Caroline held her breath, keeping still, knowing that whatever was about to come out of her mouth was important.

"They aren't the only two vampires in Mystic Falls, Elena."

"Who?"

She wouldn't. Katherine wouldn't reveal Caroline. It would fuck up the entire plan. She knew better, right?

"Take a look around you, Elena."

Well, better than 'Caroline is a vampire, you're welcome'.

"Rose. You want him to sacrifice Rose for betraying you."

Katherine laughed, but didn't answer.

"You're just going to hand us all off to Klaus to be killed? That's your plan?"

"Better you die, than I."

 **XXX**

It had been less than twenty-four hours since Elena Gilbert had visited the tomb, and Elijah was already frustrated with her inability to muster any sense of self-preservation. He had just received a text from Rose saying that Elena asked to be taken to Slater to receive more information about Klaus. The Salvatores still didn't know that Elijah was in Mystic Falls, and it was clearly time to rectify that.

He told Rose to make sure Elena stayed in town so that he could negotiate with the brothers in hopes of heading off any potential complications.

The plan was simple. He would prevent any potential duplicity by laying most of his cards on the table. He had a feeling that the Salvatores would do anything to keep Elena alive, including betraying him, and he honestly did not have time for that nonsense. They currently thought that the sun and the moon curse was about vampires and werewolves, and he was content to let that part sit. However, he was also committed to ensuring that Elena Gilbert stayed alive. If his suspicions about her true nature turned out to be correct, she would be very valuable later on. He had the elixir, and he also knew of a spell that could help them. Katherine had turned the Lockwood boy, and to be honest he wasn't at all fussed that his brother would be sacrificing a teenager.

There were worse things.

He took his leave, Rose following behind him. The full moon was in four days, and he had a feeling that Klaus would turn up sooner rather than later in order to do the ritual as soon as possible. Now that Elena had been clued in to the truth of the curse (or most of it, at least, and he would tell her the rest when she arrived at the house), there was no reason to keep Caroline's vampirism a secret.

There was a chance that Elena would attempt to use her in the ritual rather than one of the idiot Salvatore brothers, but he knew that Klaus would prefer Trevor (or perhaps Rose).

His brother preferred poetic justice, if possible.

He was willing to throw almost anyone under the proverbial bus in order to ensure that Caroline was not used as the vampiric sacrifice, and the best way would be to provide options.

In any case, he knew that a white oak dagger was in the possession of a native of Mystic Falls, John Gilbert, and he had every intention of sorting this business out before the man had the chance to set foot anywhere in a hundred mile radius.

The Martin warlocks were proving useful in distracting the Bennett witch, and Elijah had contacted Gloria and had her FedEx the elixir that he was planning on giving Elena before the ritual to resurrect her.

Modern mail was a wonderful thing.

He wasn't sure that it would work, but the Salvatores didn't need to know that.

"As I am sure you've gathered, Klaus wishes to kill Elena. I am here to propose a deal."

"What's in it for you?" Damon asked.

Elijah resisted the urge to rub his temples. Could they not see how dangerous he was? Idiots. He glanced at Rose, who was standing behind the Salvatores and seemed to share his frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I want to kill Klaus. You want to keep the doppelganger alive. You will help me, and I will ensure she lives through the full moon."

"What would you need us to do?" Stefan asked.

Elijah let a small smile bloom on his face. "You will simply allow the ritual to happen, and I will remove Klaus's heart when he is the most vulnerable."

"So, you want us to put Elena in danger and trust that you'll kill him? No deal," Damon said.

Elijah sighed. "I have my reasons to want Klaus dead. I assure you, I will follow through on my end. I give you my word."

Damon scoffed and shook his head, but Stefan studied him with a calculating gaze. "Fine."

"What?" Damon snapped.

"Fine," Stefan repeated. "We'll help as long as you keep us informed on the plan to save Elena. Without turning her into a vampire."

"That can be arranged. I've had an elixir to resurrect her after the ritual shipped here. It will work," he said, inspecting the contents of his teacup. All four of them looked up as the door opened and closed.

"What's going on?" Elena asked as she walked into the room, Caroline close behind her. Elijah was thankful that she was taking her task of tailing the doppelganger seriously.

"This is Elijah," Stefan said, gesturing to him.

"Pleased to meet you, Elena."

"You too, Elijah," she said, looking a bit uncomfortable, clearly knowing _exactly_ who she was talking to. "This is my friend Caroline."

His daughter gave him a bright smile, and he had to keep his expression neutral, though he nodded in her direction.

"Thanks for walking me home, Care," Elena said, and he noticed his daughter bristle at the clear dismissal, though she gave Elena a smile and said she'd see them all later.

Elena waited until the door shut behind Caroline before shrugging apologetically. "Sorry. She doesn't know."

"Doesn't know what?" Elijah asked.

"About...you know," Elena said, gesturing to all of them.

"I see," Elijah said slowly, filing away that they somehow still hadn't figured out that Caroline was supernatural. "Well, Elena, sit down, and we'll discuss the bargain."

"Bargain?" Elena asked, shooting a confused glance at the Salvatores. "You can't just make decisions about my life without me."

"It will be beneficial to you, I assure you," Elijah said stiffly. "Especially as it does not include putting yourself in danger to learn more about Klaus. I have the answers you seek."

"You told him?" Elena asked Rose.

"Of course," Rose said irritably.

"Still, though. It should be my decision," the girl said stubbornly.

"I am your best chance at staying alive. As such, I suggest you sit."

Elena gave him a wary look, but sat, looking at him expectantly. He summarized the terms of their deal, and Elena nodded along. When he was done, she frowned. "That's not enough for me."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Just _saying_ you want to kill Klaus. Why do you want to kill Klaus?"

"My own reasons," he said stiffly, and Elena shook her head.

"I want to know the reason. I need to know that I can trust you."

"The trust has to go both ways, Elena," he said quietly. "Come alone or the deal's off. I have my own ways of keeping alive."

Damon twitched as though he wanted to jump at Elijah, but Stefan shot him a warning look.

Elena nodded before either Salvatore could say anything. "Okay. Where's your house?"

Elijah pulled a pen out of his pocket and wrote down the address on a scrap of paper, sliding it to Elena, and stood, adjusting his suit jacket. "Three o'clock. I appreciate punctuality."

 **XXX**

Caroline grumbled to herself as she walked down to the tomb where Katherine was being held, clutching a ward disruptor and a lunchbox filled with blood bags. She and Elijah always carried a few spares in their suitcases just in case, and if Bonnie was the one who'd done the barrier, the disruptor would probably work due to her inexperience.

"Evil Stepmother?" Caroline sang, her voice full of false cheer.

Katherine walked into view, and Caroline gave her a smug smile. "Classy as always, Caroline," she croaked, her lip curled, crossing her arms. "Can I help you?"

"Father told me I was to free you."

"Bet you're happy about that."

Caroline shrugged. "Not really, but hey, at least you owe me."

Katherine scoffed. "Please. You'd blindly follow Daddy Dearest to the end of the earth if he asked."

"Not blindly. I value loyalty, unlike some people."

"If you say so, sweetpea."

"Don't call me that, and move so I can throw this."

"Would you rather I called you Ugly Stepdaughter?" she asked, standing to the side as Caroline tossed the ward disruptor through the cave entrance, and Katherine blurred out, tearing into the lunchbox and chugging one of the blood bags down before grabbing another.

"I would be the Cinderella in this analogy."

"Well, for being a spoiled brat, I guess you do know how to handle your cleaning supplies."

"Bitch."

"And proud. Now, let's go. Evil Stepmother has some nefarious errands to run," Katherine said dryly. "First stop, your house. I need a shower."

"Whatever."

They blurred off, Caroline arriving at her house a full minute after Katherine due to their difference in speed, and she heard the shower already running when she walked in, kicking her shoes off in the front hall and hanging her jacket up as she heard Elijah talking to Katherine in the living room.

But wasn't Katherine in the shower?

She frowned, listening in.

"—introduced Katerina at Klaus's birthday celebration. We were to keep her occupied until the full moon where he would break the curse. Katerina, as you know, caught wind of this, and managed to escape."

"But why would you help Klaus? I still don't understand."

"Klaus is my brother."

"I heard that. I'm still...processing."

Caroline realized that it was Elena her father was talking to. Why was he telling her the whole story? Did he mean for her to reveal herself?

She realized that he had heard her come in from his next comment.

"Yes, I'm a bit behind the times, but I believe the term you're looking for is 'OMG'."

"Seriously?" Caroline asked, walking into the living room, her hands on her hips.

"Caroline, what are you doing here?"

"Caroline is my daughter," Elijah said simply. "Though she generally has the sense to not intrude on private conversations."

"Oh, as if you didn't hear me come in," she said. "And if there's no sage, it's not private."

"Sage?" Elena asked, frowning.

"Don't worry about it," Caroline said before turning to Elijah. "So, are you just going to tell her your entire life story, or—"

"Vampires can't have children," Elena interrupted.

"I'm adopted."

"And you really let me introduce you to him earlier?"

Caroline shrugged. "It was funny. And anyway, you weren't supposed to know."

"So I'm allowed to know now?"

"Yeah."

"Caroline, I would appreciate it if you would conduct yourself with the proper decorum expected of a lady," Elijah said before turning back to Elena.

Caroline stuck her tongue out at Elijah, and Elena's lips twitched.

"I saw that."

"How?"

"The mirror above the fireplace—Do not roll your eyes at me, Caroline."

"Right. Okay. But back to the point. If he's your brother, why do you want him dead?" Elena asked, clearly equally amused and impatient.

"The story is a long one," Elijah said simply. "All you must know is that the sun and moon curse is not quite what you think it is."

"What do you mean?"

Caroline restrained a sigh ('exhaling exaggeratedly so as to express distaste' was unladylike) and walked to the couch, sitting down next to her father.

"Niklaus is my half-brother. When we were turned into vampires, a series of events led my mother to placing a curse on him…"

 **XXX**

Klaus stood up from the couch that he'd just had moved to his temporary apartment, walking over to Isobel, who was standing by the window, twitching nervously. He roughly grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him.

"Do you know what you must do?" Klaus asked, cupping Isobel's chin as he stared at her.

"Yes."

"What's that?"

"I must immediately find Elena and tell her the truth about her family history, and that you have arrived in Mystic Falls. I will then remove my daylight ring and burn in the sun," she said, her voice shaking.

"That's right, love," he said, patting her cheek and stepping away. "Excellent. Are we prepared for the ritual tonight, Maddox?"

"Yes."

"Off you go, Isobel. There's a good girl," he encouraged, practically pushing her out the door. "Greta, I'm going to need you to find and subdue Rose-Marie, and bring her to the cellar by the ritual site. Ensure she will not escape, then prepare for the ritual."

"Of course," Greta said, bowing her head submissively.

He liked that one, though she'd most likely be dead by the end of the night. The ritual would drain her of all magic, and she'd probably die from it.

Pity, that.

He'd been planning on possessing the body of a teacher in the area, but since Katerina had oh-so-conveniently dropped the ingredients of the ritual into his lap, he had no need to. This allowed him to complete the ritual a month early with quite a bit less fuss, and for that he was grateful.

It was probably the first _useful_ thing Katerina had done in her entire life.

He turned to Maddox. "I need you to find Tyler Lockwood and lock him in the cellar by the ritual site. Return here afterwards."

After Maddox had nodded and left, he turned to the last occupant of the room, twirling the large butcher knife in one hand. "Hello, Katerina."

"Klaus."

He'd managed to capture her earlier with no difficulty. She'd been leaving the house his brother had procured to live with his little blonde sycophant that he called a daughter when he'd snuck up behind Katherine and snapped her neck as she was climbing out the window.

She hadn't even had time to scream.

He ran his fingers through her hair softly, almost lovingly, before cupping her cheek, bringing her face up to make eye contact with her. "Stab yourself repeatedly until I tell you to stop," he said, pushing the knife into her hand and backing up. "And do mix it up a bit occasionally, Katerina. You know, thigh, stomach, arm...Can't get too predictable, can we?"

He pushed himself onto the kitchen table, watching her impale herself with the knife over and over, a small smile spreading across his face.

"Do you get off on this, or something?"

"On watching pretty girls stab themselves? No."

He sat and observed her a bit longer, enjoying her pain, before bending over her again, compelling her. "Stop stabbing yourself. For now. You will answer all of my questions completely and honestly."

Katherine repeated the order, her eyes full of fear, and he smirked.

Test question first. "Is Elijah in Mystic Falls?"

"Yes."

"Is he planning to kill me?"

"Yes."

"Interesting. And how is he planning to do that?"

"He will wait until you are vulnerable because of the toll the ritual will take on your body, and then he will pull your heart out."

"Ah, I see. You may carry on with the knife. Oh, and you may not leave the room."

He turned to leave, smirking as Katherine let out a small cry of pain.

 **XXX**

"Caroline?"

"Yes, Father?" Caroline asked, poking her head out of her room to the hallway. "Did Elena's brother agree to the ritual?"

"Yes. They are linked. If the elixir does not work, he'll die."

Caroline nodded. She wasn't exactly on board with Jeremy taking his own life to save that of his sister, but, in the words of Elena, it was his decision. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes. Come here."

She frowned but walked over. "What's wrong? You look upset."

He grabbed her chin and forced her eyes to connect with his. She realized what was happening and struggled to escape from his grip, but he held her fast. "Do not leave the house until morning, Caroline."

"I will not leave the house until morning," she said, feeling her eyes fill with tears as he pulled away. "Why?" she asked.

"To keep you safe."

"I'm safest with you."

"Not tonight. If I die, I need you to run."

"Don't leave me here. I won't be able to leave if something happens."

"You will be fine, my dear," he said, and he blurred away.

She tried to follow him, but her body rammed hard against the invisible barrier cloaking the front door. "No. Come back!" she yelled, but he didn't return.

The first thing she did was down a shot of vervain, kicking herself for forgetting. After that, she sat on the couch in front of the clock and waited.

She tried to watch television or read, but couldn't focus for more than a few minutes, and ended up pacing endlessly as the moon rose and fell. She felt a creeping anxiety fill her, and as she watched the sun rise slowly into the sky, she pressed herself against the invisible barrier on the front door. The second it gave way, meaning that she was free to leave the house, she sped off.

Her father hadn't come back, which meant that her mysterious Uncle had probably won. She had to find out, to save him if she could.

Caroline drove to the apartment that she knew Klaus was occupying (sometimes small-town gossip was helpful, especially when it involved young, hot British men), her heels clicking on the pavement as she locked her car and strutted towards the entrance.

She listened to her surroundings as she walked up the stairs, and when she heard her father's voice. She sped towards the door in question and threw it open to see him crumpling to the floor, grey and stone-like, a dagger protruding from his chest while a man she assumed was her Uncle and Stefan stood to the side, Katherine near them sitting stiffly in a chair.

"Father, no!" she screamed, assaulted by grief and flashbacks of such a similar situation occurring when she was a small child—the feeling of safety stripped away.

She vaguely heard Klaus tell Stefan to go pack as well, threatening that he'd kill Damon, as well as telling Katherine that she had a four hour head start as a thank you for providing the necessary ingredients for the ritual.

"And who are you, little one?"

She felt rage simmer within her, a pulsing heat fill her like boiling blood, and she wanted to _hurt_ this man, who'd killed her father—her family.

"Klaus," she greeted, her voice quiet.

"While you seem to know exactly who I am, I do not know your name. So please, tell me," he said, though the small smile playing on his lips told her that he knew _exactly_ who she was. But she'd play along for now.

"I'm Caroline Mikaelson."

"Ah. The little girl Elijah has been toting around as his daughter for the last near-century."

"You knew?"

"Of course. Oh, do wipe that look off your face, you couldn't have not known that I was keeping tabs on your both? No? Pity. It seems Elijah has become lax in his attentiveness to detail. Well, he'll be away for quite awhile, so you're free of playing house for the near future."

"Playing _house_? Elijah is my _father,_ you _asshole_."

He looked more amused than anything, his eyebrows rising at her words. "You should watch your wording, love. I might get angry."

"Elijah loves me. You've just gotten your brother back, but you'll lose him if you kill me," she said, walking casually to pull the dagger out of her father's chest, but cried out as she was thrown against the nearby wall.

"I doubt it," Klaus spat, and she felt her body constrict when he plunged his hand into her chest.

"No. You know him. Family, always and forever."

"Oh, he taught you that little lie as well?"

"It's not a lie," she said through gritted teeth, moaning in pain when he took his hand out of her chest and pinned her to the wall instead, her blood on his hands smearing onto her wrists. He was almost pressed against her, and her skin prickled as she became aware of how close he was, how his breath was hot on her face as he spoke, his voice curling around her.

"I have been hunting Katerina Petrova for five hundred years, and my brother was _in love_ with her. Yet, he forgave me. He would never pick a little girl over his flesh and blood."

She narrowed her eyes, deciding to take a gamble, not knowing if Klaus knew how deep her father's feelings for Katherine truly went. "He picked me over Katerina as well."

It seemed to pay off, judging by the brief look of surprise that flashed across his face. "Did he now?"

"Yes. He did,"

He cocked his head to the side, and she scowled. "Look, I just want my father back, okay?"

"We can't always get what we want, love," he said, his eyes calculating, though he released her wrists.

She shrugged. "I guess not. After all, Father only wanted his family back, but you wouldn't give that to him, would you?"

"No. I keep my family near, always."

"That's not what Father said. He said you killed all of them. That you threw them in the ocean."

"That's what he thought, but that's not what happened."

Caroline felt her head spin with this new information. She needed her father back, and if Klaus was willing to keep his dead family members around…

She'd been warned against making deals with the devil for as long as she could remember, but this was for her father. Her only family.

"I'd like to agree on a bargain," Caroline said quietly, making Klaus smirk.

He shrugged. "I doubt that there is anything that you can provide."

"I know the locations of the four largest werewolf packs in the country."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" he asked, though she saw the ghost of a self-satisfied smirk stretch across his face.

"Yes."

"And what if I already know the locations?"

She bit her lip. She had nothing to offer him, really. She couldn't show weakness. "Do you?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not."

"Name them, then."

He rolled his eyes. "Rural areas near Nashville, Portland, Reno, and New Orleans."

 _Fuck_.

He could tell by her face that they were the ones she knew, she was sure, especially judging by the smile stretching across his face. "Do you have another offer? Anything that might be of use?"

"I..."

"No? Well, shall I give you a suggestion?"

"Fine," she said quietly.

"Stay loyal to me while I make my hybrid army, and I will give you your father back."

There were too many loopholes. She shook her head. "No. I will stay loyal to you to the point where I do not sacrifice myself for you until you have figured out how to make your hybrid army. And then you will give me my father back, alive and unharmed."

"You realize that you are in no position to make a counteroffer, sweetheart."

She stared at him stonily, and he gave a careless shrug.

"You have yourself a bargain, then, love. But I will not be as lenient next time."

"If there is a next time, Uncle."

"We will leave once Stefan returns. As you are an unknown entity, my apologies, but I cannot allow you time to gather your things. We shall have to buy you some on the way, I suppose."

She felt her stomach drop as she realized what she'd just agreed to, how she'd essentially signed her soul away for her father's life.

Her Uncle seemed to follow her train of thought, and he smirked, his eyes connecting with hers as he lifted his hand to his lips, his fingers still smeared with her blood. She watched, her breath catching as he licked it off his fingers, walking to her predatorily, invading her personal space. She felt an entirely different type of heat creeping up her body, felt his gaze _consume_ her. He trailed a finger down her jaw to lift her chin to look at him, and she had to suppress a shiver at the brush of his fingertip against her skin (thank _god_ she'd remembered to take her vervain).

"And please sweetheart, call me Klaus."

 **XXX**

Her eyes were dark as she stared at him, and he had to resist the urge to lick his lips, hearing her breath catch. He could smell the arousal pooling between her thighs, the shame of it radiating off of her body, and he pinned her wrists to the wall again on either side of her head, putting them nose to nose.

"I will give you this one chance. Do not betray me, sweetheart. You will regret it."

"I won't," she said, her voice a low whisper, and he gave her a cold smile, letting her go and walking back to the liquor cabinet.

This was a terrible idea, to let her come with him, and he knew it. There was something off about her, though, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. She sparked his interest, and he had to know why.

She was attractive (and seemed to be attracted to him), and he could already see himself enjoying her—both her fire and her body—but he had a feeling she wouldn't allow it, at least not initially.

He enjoyed the chase, though. He always had. There were women, though granted they were a rarity, that rejected him, and they were always the ones he went after. The ones with the secret flattered smiles that they only allowed when they thought he was out of earshot, the oh-so-telling fluttering pulses when they pretended to be unmoved by his attentions.

Caroline seemed to be in that group, and she also considered his brother a father. She would feel ashamed for giving in, he was sure, and that would make it all the more amusing when she broke. They all did, eventually.

He would bed her, watch her writhe underneath him as she screamed his name, and he would ruin her before he let her go.

Perhaps he'd trap Elijah in the next room. Undagger him. Make her surrogate father hear her screams as he took her, unable to intervene.

A fitting punishment.

After all, if Elijah wanted to stop Klaus from creating a new family, it was only fair for Klaus to take his away in return, wasn't it?

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed that (and that it made sense). Please give me your feedback, or I won't know your thoughts on it. I need your constructive feedback on whether the chapter worked/made sense in order to improve, so please don't be afraid to tell me what you think. If you're more comfortable talking to me on tumblr (or you just want to follow me), it's thetourguidebarbie.**

 **How are we feeling about Klaus's plan? Elijah's daggering? Katherine's reaction? Do you have a favorite part or line? Any predictions?**

 **I'd love to hear your thoughts :)  
**

 **Hugs!  
-Angie**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you so much for your awesome responses to the last chapter!  
There are a few things that didn't make sense to me in canon, and I am trying to take advantage of a few of the plot holes in this story. If you follow my tumblr, you'll know that I've said repeatedly that parts of this story might make people angry. I was never exactly a fan of Elena, but I think that season four was when she truly became unlikeable, and this story takes place before that. Please keep that in mind :)  
Thank you to Sophie, Wifey, and Laine for some beta-work and quick lookovers :)  
Hugs!  
-Angie**

* * *

 **Interstate 40 - Present**

Caroline looked out the window as the scenery rolled by while they drove to Nashville from Virginia, determinedly ignoring the few attempts at conversation that Stefan had made. They had left in the early hours of the morning, as soon as Stefan had returned to Klaus's apartment, bag slung over his shoulder, looking miserable. Klaus had herded them to the car, whispering something Caroline couldn't hear to a minion before they left, and she watched said minion wheel Elijah's coffin into another car, which faded into the darkness driving in the opposite direction.

Caroline observed Stefan in the reflection of the rearview mirror, knowing that the other vampire was very, very close to turning his humanity off just to deal with the blood cravings again, but something was stopping him.

She had a feeling it was his love for the Elenaganger.

The girl was most likely still alive, though probably devastated that her brother had decided to sacrifice himself to keep her that way, and Caroline couldn't help but feel a bit of remorse. She had essentially teamed up with Elena's enemy, though there was no reason for her to go after Klaus now other than Stefan, especially since Elena didn't really seem like the revenge kind of girl.

Damon, from what she'd seen, definitely wouldn't say no to a little vengeance, but Caroline was confident that Stefan wouldn't allow it.

Either way, she'd heard the stories of the Ripper of Monterey from her father, and she knew that Stefan felt the remorse after every kill, but he was helpless to stop himself in the moment. He often called his brother impulsive, but Stefan definitely had his own difficulties with impulse control.

Caroline, honestly, had very little sympathy for him, mostly because she just didn't have the emotional bandwidth to deal with it. She was in a car with a man she'd promised her loyalty to for the foreseeable future in order to free her father, and she couldn't help but feel a bit terrified.

Tales of his cruelty had been pounded into her from practically the day Elijah took her in, and she had seen examples of it from his earlier behavior.

She wondered what she'd be required to do.

The way he'd looked at her hadn't sat well with her at all. His gaze had consumed her, had made her feel like an item on display that he wanted to buy. Or steal.

She would just accompany him until he figured out how to make his hybrids. That was all she'd agreed to. However, she couldn't help but acknowledge that there was a gut feeling unfurling in her stomach that there was something inherently wrong about their deal.

Klaus was a possessive man by nature, that much she knew, having heard stories from her father about the white oak daggers he used to keep his siblings close. She had agreed to go with him, to be loyal, and though Elijah thought of her as family, she knew that Klaus didn't see her that way.

She also remembered quite clearly the first conversation she'd ever had with Elijah about making deals with Klaus. Your word was binding. His? Only if he felt like it.

Would she be a possession? Relegated to a life in shackles of forced loyalty, her father's potential death hanging over her head?

Had she been foolish to make a deal when she knew that Klaus wouldn't _really_ kill her father anyway?

Caroline was torn from her thoughts when she heard Klaus speak beside her. "There's a shopping center just off the highway in a few miles. Now that the shops have opened, we'll stop there to get you some clothing and some supplies before we continue. We should be able to reach Nashville by midday if we're quick."

Caroline felt her heart constrict when she remembered her father's playfully exasperated face only a few weeks before as he dutifully followed her around the mall in Richmond, but it gave her a much-needed jolt.

She'd forgotten that she had leverage.

Elijah loved her, and it would be a lot more work on Klaus's part when Elijah woke if he killed her. Klaus was patient, sure, but he liked the easy route if possible, and Caroline had a feeling that Klaus had a lot more in store for her than gaining her loyalty, mostly for the purpose of revenge on his brother.

The idea that he might use her to hurt Elijah made her sick to her stomach, but it did allow her some wiggle-room with her behavior.

"You've obviously never been shopping with me," Caroline said quietly, a quirk to her lips.

"It's a good thing you're not coming, then," Klaus said lightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, come now, Caroline. Did you really think that I would allow you such a good opportunity to escape from me? To reach out for help? No. You'll stay in the car where you belong like a good girl, and I'll have some things brought back."

"Um, no. I don't trust your fashion sense," she said, trying to ignore the fact that he was treating her like a flight risk, instead letting her eyes rove pointedly across his outfit.

He seemed to take her gaze in a completely different way however, raising his eyebrow and smirking.

She blushed, looking away, and knew she'd lost all of her fleetingly-gained ground with him. Best to let him underestimate her, she thought a bit miserably, folding her hands in her lap. "Fine," she said quietly. "I'll stay in the car."

"Good. I'll have Maddox stay with you just to ensure there's no funny business," he said easily, turning off the highway without signalling, looking, _or_ slowing down.

"Right," she said tightly, returning to gazing out the window.

Hopefully whatever he brought back wouldn't be horrible.

Or revealing.

Or...oh, god, he was going to pick out her underwear.

She resisted the urge to cover her face with her hands, instead glaring at the button that rolled down her window as though it had personally offended her, and she saw Klaus smirk in the corner of her eye as though he knew what she was thinking.

Bastard.

* * *

 **Mystic Falls, Virginia - Present**

Elena sat slumped against the headboard of her bed, her eyes wide, chin tucked against her knees. The last twenty-four hours had been something of a non-stop nightmare, and though her eyes were open, all she could do was relive the events in her mind.

Jeremy was dead.

Her Aunt Jenna now knew what Elena had been carefully concealing from her, and the woman was now fluctuating between rage at how Elena could have kept this a secret, and blaming herself for not realizing that there was something so wrong going on right under her nose.

Stefan was off with Klaus after sacrificing himself for his brother, who had shut himself in his house with a bottle of bourbon and was refusing to come out.

Bonnie hadn't been seen, though Elena had a feeling that her best friend was going to throw herself into learning more about magic to distract herself.

And Elena? Well, she was alive, but knew things about her family history that she was almost sure she could have lived without learning.

She'd known that Katherine was her ancestor, but she'd been visited right before the ritual by her birth mother, Isobel, who had told her some things that Elena wasn't quite sure she believed, but had made so many things fall into place.

Doppelgangers are created by ancestry. If there was a chance of the line dying out, magic would intervene. There had been cases of her ancestors mysteriously recovering from deadly illnesses if they were the last in the line, or the women coincidentally falling pregnant just before they'd stopped being fertile.

The balance had to be kept.

Elena had already accepted that her life wasn't going to be normal (because doppelgangers, werewolves, witches, and vampires weren't exactly run-of-the-mill beings), but she'd thought that being a doppelganger was where it all stopped.

Apparently not.

It turned out that Katherine wasn't the first doppelganger (which she'd vaguely known, due to the Originals' background story), but that doppelganger wasn't the first one either.

The origin of the first doppelganger was something of a myth, the legend of Silas and his two lovers could be all a lie or could be gospel; no one knew.

The only sliver of truth, the only _guaranteed to be accurate_ slice of that story was that Silas and his lovers, Amara and Qetsiyah, were witches. Travelers, to be exact.

Katherine had been one before she'd committed suicide and woken up a vampire. Her mysterious child had carried on the gene, and that mysterious child had passed that gene down the line.

Down to Elena.

She'd thought the heat and electricity crackling beneath her skin had been normal, especially since she'd never known any other way, but apparently she'd been wrong.

Isobel had made a very clear point of saying that Bonnie was far more powerful than Elena could ever hope to be, simply because Bennett witches were the most powerful of all, also descended from those with Traveler magic running through their veins.

Elena, though, despite the fact that she wasn't the most powerful of witches, remained a witch regardless.

Though Elena had what felt like thousands of questions, Isobel simply told her that she'd completed her task, had given her a soft smile, apologizing for staying away so long, and dropped her ring to the ground.

Elena had watched her birth mother scream as flames consumed her.

Elena's eyes moved from the floor to the ring, which sat on her dresser. She had picked it up when Isobel had been reduced to ashes, rationalizing that daylight rings were rare, and she should keep it since it might be useful.

She knew though, deep down, that really she just wanted something to remember the woman by.

Elena sighed, trying to prevent tears from swelling in her eyes. Her brother was gone, her boyfriend was gone, her life as she knew it was _gone_.

She let herself turn on her side, still curled up in the fetal position, and though the sun had long since risen, she let the lingering emotional exhaustion and physical weakness of being completely drained of blood for a few hours take her body over, and fell asleep.

* * *

 **Nashville, Tennessee - Present**

Caroline glared at the shopping bags, which were sitting tauntingly on the comfortable-looking bed in the expensive hotel room. Klaus had told her that she had an hour to shower and change before they'd get some lunch.

She still wasn't sure whether he meant human food or humans _as_ food, but she wasn't going to ask.

She had wrapped herself in the fluffy hotel bathrobe, toweling off her hair carefully and trying to will herself to open the shopping bags. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous, besides the obvious fear that she'd be walking around in disgusting floral patterns and unflatteringly-cut blouses. She pulled over a bag from an upscale department store and upturned it, a few folded dresses and blouses tumbling out. She bit her lip and rifled through them, selecting a nicely patterned and a surprisingly modestly-cut sundress before turning with some trepidation to the others, finding a matching pair of underthings (which, in her opinion, were _much_ too lacy considering that she didn't have anyone she wanted to model them for).

She looked through her purse, huffing in irritation when she realized she didn't have her full arsenal of make-up, and applied what she could of what she normally used.

Once she'd brushed her hair, she let the robe drop to the floor and fastened the bra around he body, adjusting it, and turning to the side to make sure it didn't cut into her skin. She wasn't sure whether it was creepy or impressive that it fit perfectly.

She decided on creepy.

The Mystery of the Modestly-cut Sundress was solved as soon as she pulled it on.

The majority of the fabric was transparent as soon as she stepped into the light, and she gritted her teeth, annoyed that it looked very, very good. Who did this guy think he _was_ , exactly?

She was about to pull it off to select a new dress, hoping that she'd have more luck, but the hotel door beeped and slammed open without warning.

"What the _hell_?" she shrieked, checking the clock, knowing she'd had about fifteen minutes to go before she was supposed to be ready.

Klaus shrugged as he walked through the doorway, stuffing his hands in his pockets, his eyes roving her body appreciatively. "My apologies."

"Get your perv eyes away from me," she snapped, grabbing the nearest shoe box and checking to see if the wedges inside matched her dress before slipping them on, refusing to show that she was even slightly uncomfortable.

"Why should I? You're beautiful."

"And you're creepy."

"Perhaps," he said with an uncaring shrug of his shoulders before offering his arm to her. "Shall we go?"

"Go where?"

"We have to pay a little visit to someone to see where, exactly, the werewolf pack is."

"And why am I coming with?"

Klaus gave her a dimpled smile that was all gleaming teeth. "You'll make a lovely distraction, sweetheart."

She marched past him, ignoring his offered arm, but he didn't seem too bothered by it when he matched her strides, walking beside her. She sped up, and he let her, lingering behind her as she walked, and he could feel his eyes on her body.

It was so incredibly wrong, she knew, feeling the heat burning under her skin as he stared, and she felt rage simmer up in her, because the situation was so completely ridiculous, and he was taking advantage of it.

He was attractive, but he was also evil, creepy, and absolutely _vile_ , and she honestly had no interest in him because he was such a repulsive person. She needed to get this werewolf thing over with and help him make his goddamn army so that she could grab her father and get the fuck out of here.

If that meant letting him stare at her ass, whatever. It's not like people didn't do it every day, anyway.

She seethed silently on the drive to wherever they were going, Stefan still in the backseat, looking boredly out the window. "I'm going to need you to do something for me when we get there, love."

"Imagine that."

Klaus shot her a warning look, and she just shrugged, turning away.

"We're visiting someone who has a close relationship with the nearby werewolf colony. I'm going to need you to get access to their house."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

She could feel his eyes raking over her body, and she shifted uncomfortably, trying not to look at him. "I'm sure you'll find a way," he said quietly.

She fought down the shiver threatening to crawl up her spine, and she hoped that Klaus hadn't noticed, though there was a good chance that he had. She watched the trees go by as they drove down the highway before pulling off onto a paved street and then a rural dirt road.

They pulled over to the side of the highway, and Caroline made a face as Klaus opened the passenger door for her before she could herself. "I'll walk with you. It's only a mile or so that way," he said.

"I can walk myself."

"Fine then, love. Just make sure you get an invitation, and when you do, call me. I suspect that they'll be werewolves, so compulsion would be useless."

"Okay," she said, walking away as fast as possible.

She pretended not to notice how he stayed a step or two behind her, and stuffed her phone in her bra, running her hands through her hair to muss it up a bit, and walking to the front door of the house, figuring that Klaus would call her back if it was the wrong one.

She bit her lip and knocked on the door, listening for the scuffling inside indicating that a person was coming to the door. When it swung open, Caroline gave the young woman a tight smile. "Hi, my car broke down and my phone's dead. I was hoping you'd let me use yours?"

"Um, yeah sure, come on in. Do you need me to look up the number?"

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks!"

The girl left, presumably to look up the number, and Caroline pulled out her phone, texting Klaus to say that she'd been successful.

[Klaus]: Kill the human, keep the wolf alive.

Caroline bit her lip. It was murder, but she needed to save her father, and she wasn't going to take any risks.

[Caroline]: How do I know which one is which?

[Klaus]: Try to compel them.

[Caroline]: What if the non-wolf is on vervain?

She could hear the girl's footsteps returning.

[Klaus]: Not my problem.

[Klaus]: Figure it out somehow and do it.

Caroline sighed and turned to the girl who arrived behind her, another trailing behind her. "Well, I don't know what insurance company you have, so I wrote down the numbers for–"

"Tell me a terrible secret," Caroline said to the girl, hooking her with her gaze.

"I'm fucking my sister's boyfriend," the girl said, blushing furiously.

"What?" the other girl screeched.

Okay, that didn't make any sense. If they were sisters, that meant that they had to be half (or adopted) of the other had a werewolf gene. Only one way to find out.

"Stay still," she compelled the first girl before striding over to the second. "Sleep," she said simply, nodding to herself when the girl crumpled to the floor, chest gently rising and falling.

[Caroline]: Both girls are human.

[Klaus]: Bring them outside.

She woke up the second girl and compelled them to follow her outside, ignoring Klaus's dimpled smile when she led them to the porch. "I don't understand why it was necessary to send me in first."

"I have my reasons, love."

She curled her lip, but he turned away from her to look at the girls, both of whom were terrified. "So, tell me what you know about werewolves."

* * *

 **Mystic Falls, Virginia - Present**

For the first time in her life, Katerina Petrova didn't run.

She shoved the vial of Klaus's blood into Damon's hands and told him she was going far, far away, but then returned to the house that Elijah had bought for them and Caroline.

Sure, he'd told Caroline it was for just the two of them, but Katherine knew better, and she knew that Caroline did too, in her heart of hearts.

Katherine hated to say it, but she still believed in love. It was a weakness, but a brightly burning one that she couldn't seem to smother, and now that Klaus had sort-of given her a pardon (not truly, but she'd take what she could get), she needed a plan to get Elijah back.

She had no idea where Klaus had stored his coffin, but she did have a feeling that he wouldn't have taken it with him as he might have otherwise. Having Caroline with him meant that he needed to keep Elijah away to increase the chance of keeping his leverage over her.

Frankly, Katherine might not like Caroline all that much, though she was fond of her in a 'this brat is an extension of the man I love and therefore I have to find something likeable about her' way, but she wasn't willing to completely throw her under the Klaus Bus, especially since Elijah would never forgive her.

However, Katherine _was_ willing to let Caroline distract Klaus while she came up with a plan to save Elijah. Caroline could handle herself, and Katherine was willing to take advantage of that.

Was she evil? Definitely, without a doubt. Stepmother? Not officially. Not that she wanted that.

Katherine had never really been the wedding type of girl.

She needed allies and a plan.

Katherine briefly considered recruiting Damon, but shoved the idea aside immediately, knowing that he was reckless and had terrible judgment under pressure, letting his emotions lead his plans.

Not a good combination.

Her first step would be to recruit the Martin warlocks (all they knew was that their precious _Greta_ had died at Klaus's hands, not that she'd willingly sacrificed herself for him, the dumb bitch), she decided, and then she'd make a stop at the home of Mason Lockwood's pack, who would be devastated at the loss of the Lockwood boys.

After that, though, she didn't know. Learning to think on her feet had been one of the many skills she'd developed over the years, and she'd learned to not get too invested in plans too many steps ahead.

She curled up on the bed she'd shared with Elijah just two nights before, letting his subtle scent covering the pillow fill her lungs, her eyelids fluttering closed. She was quite aware that Isobel must have visited Elena, which meant that her shadow self (and however-many-greats granddaughter) knew exactly what she was, though not what she could be.

Katherine had been able to trace a good bit of her ancestry using Elena's bloodline once she'd been found, and somewhere down the line, the Petrovas' magic had been suppressed, allowing compulsion and leaving them powerless.

She had a feeling that it was Klaus's doing, in an effort to find the doppelganger more easily.

Katherine had no doubt that Elena would come to her sooner rather than later, looking for answers, and Katherine would be happy to give them, for a price.

The price being her and Bonnie's cooperation.

Traveler magic was a tricky thing, volatile but powerful, and though the Bennetts generally didn't practice that branch any longer, Bonnie would still have the potential for it, and that resource would be very helpful.

Katherine shifted slightly under the covers. Though she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep, it would be the first time in quite a few centuries when she could truly relax, knowing there was almost no chance of being tracked down and killed by Klaus or one of his minions.

It figured that her first few hours of freedom would only occur when Elijah wasn't there to share them.

* * *

 **Nashville, Tennessee - Present**

It was the day after Klaus had interrogated the two girls, and they were on their way to the werewolf colony, the location of which he'd extracted from the werewolf the girls had known, whose dead, vampire-blood infected body was now thrown over Stefan's shoulder.

"You know, if you knew we were going to be hiking instead of driving, the last you could have done was let me know to wear more sensible shoes," Caroline said irritably, scowling as the cherry red Louboutin heels dug into the dirt path. "Or, you could have bought me more sensible shoes to begin with."

Klaus apparently hadn't heard of shoes that had a heel shorter than three inches, and it was driving her nuts. Maybe she should have pushed harder to go shopping with him. She wasn't sure which was worse, wearing high heels and short skirts walking in a forest, or spending three hours shopping with Klaus where he probably would have made her try on every single thing (and she might not have ended up with anything comfortable anyway).

"But they look so good on you, love," he said, his voice unctuous and silky.

"You're disgusting."

"Now, love, let's not be rude."

Caroline shot him a filthy look, which he didn't see because he was in front of her, and continued to follow him up the path, grumbling under her breath. She pulled her jacket more tightly around herself, because despite the fact that vampires didn't feel cold, the feeling of being wrapped in fabric still brought her comfort.

They climbed for only another few minutes, completely in silence. She and Stefan exchanged a few long suffering looks as the bounce in Klaus's step seemed to become more jovial as they approached the camp.

The wolves were all understandably confused when they arrived, and once Klaus introduced himself, a ripple of fear clearly made its way around the camp. An hour later, there were at least fifteen dead werewolves littering the ground, and Klaus was absolutely irate.

He ranted for a good five minutes about how it should have worked, brainstorming potential reasons out loud, and even throwing a dead body so hard against a tree that it exploded in gore, the remains falling among the other corpses.

Caroline and Stefan stood perfectly still right beside each other, just awkwardly watching Klaus lose his shit. When Klaus finally calmed down, he was covered in blood, and he stalked past them, snarling for them to follow him down to the car.

Caroline wrinkled her nose as she buckled herself into the passenger's seat. "Can we stop at the hotel? I know we packed and everything, but we haven't checked out yet, and you reek of death."

"Yes, well, it matches my soul."

That surprised a laugh out of her, and she could have sworn that his body relaxed even just a fraction as he pulled out of the wilderness reserve parking lot.

"Where are we going?" Stefan asked from the backseat, his voice flat.

"Chicago."

Caroline froze, dread blooming in the pit of her stomach, and when she caught Stefan's reflection in the rearview mirror, she realized that she wasn't the only one.

* * *

 **Lake Geneva, Switzerland - Present**

Lara Parker checked her phone for what felt like the fifth time that afternoon, running her hand through her blonde curls nervously. She hadn't heard from Caroline in four days, and she was starting to get worried. It wasn't like Caroline to not check in, and she was completely aware that the other girl was safe, especially since Elijah was one of the Originals.

Still, though… She had a weird gut feeling.

Worst case scenario, Caroline was just busy and would cheerfully tell her to stop being such a worrywart (which was Lara's constant state of being, really), and that she'd call back soon.

" _Hey, it's Caroline! Leave a message!"_

Lara took a deep breath, feeling her stomach plummet. "Hey, Care, it's Lara. You haven't texted or emailed me back for a few days, so I just wanted to make sure that everything was going okay. If you could give me a call back, that would be great. I hope you're having fun in the U.S."

She hung up, setting her phone down.

Caroline always returned calls as soon as she could, and typically if you called her you'd get a call back before she went to bed. However, as the hours passed, Lara became more and more sure that her gut feeling was onto something.

She pulled out her phone again and dialed the number that was only supposed to be used for emergencies, thinking that this would qualify.

" _You have reached the number of Elijah Mikaelson. Please leave your name and your number, even if you believe that I already have your number, and the reason that you called. I will attempt to return your call as soon as possible."_

"Hi, Mr. Mikaelson, it's Lara Parker. I haven't heard from Caroline in a few days, and I just wanted to make sure everything's okay. If you could give me a call back, or have her do it, that would be great. I'm just worried, you know? Thanks," Lara said, before rattling off her number and hanging up.

She took a deep breath and pulled out her laptop, deciding to distract herself as best she could. If she didn't hear from Caroline within the next few days, she'd book a ticket to Virginia.

She and Caroline had been best friends for over a decade now, and Lara knew that if Caroline hadn't called her back by then, whatever was going on had to be bad.

* * *

 **Chicago, Illinois - Present**

Klaus put the car in park and slammed the driver's door behind him, again making it to the passenger's side before Caroline could open her own door. He took great delight in her glowering, her bright blue eyes shining with disgust as she moved out of the car, head held high, strutting past him.

He almost regretted buying her primarily skirts and dresses. Her legs were fantastic, but he would love to see the curve of her arse framed by tight denim. "What are we doing here?" she asked, her clear voice echoing through the night air.

"We're going to speak to someone who can contact the Original witch."

Caroline turned to look at him, frowning, but Stefan interrupted before she could say anything. "Who?"

"You might recognize her. You knew her many years ago," Klaus said, brushing past Caroline towards the front door of the storage facility, reveling in the stiffening of her body as he trailed a finger along her waist while he passed, not bothering to look behind him. He could hear the click of Caroline's heels and Stefan's heavy footsteps dutifully following, and he couldn't help but wonder how the evening would play out.

He had a few theories, after all, but Rebekah had always been the unpredictable sort. If it were just him and Stefan, as he'd originally planned, he had a feeling that it would go pear-shaped rather quickly. Stefan didn't remember who she was, and Rebekah would most definitely not be appreciative of that.

However, having Caroline around made everything a bit more unpredictable, a bit more exciting. From what he'd seen, she and Rebekah were very similar, and the only question was whether they would mesh or clash because of it.

He had a feeling Rebekah would not be appreciative that Elijah had replaced her, and it would take a few days for her to fully process what she'd perceive as her second-oldest brother's betrayal, as well as her former lover not remembering her.

Caroline was smart, though, and he knew that she would have asked for stories about Rebekah from Elijah, and would know more about his sister than perhaps anyone else who was not a blood relation. Elijah did like his family stories.

She had been on edge though, ever since they crossed the town border, and he knew why. This was the city of her birth, and she must have questions about her origins. He wondered if he could use that as leverage somehow.

He kicked open the door to the warehouse, more for dramatic effect than practicality, and led them down to one of the locked cells before punching in a keycode and smirking as the door to the room lifted.

He walked in and turned to see Stefan and Caroline standing in the doorway. Stefan just looked confused, but Caroline's eyes were wide as they darted between the four coffins pushed against the walls.

Yes, the girl was smart.

Each coffin was different, and Klaus passed the ebony casket holding his brother Kol, all sharp angles and carved spikes, to approach the coffin against the far wall, which was a deep mahogany, flowers and vines carved along the sides. He opened the top of the casket, stroking his sister's cheek before waving over his companions.

Stefan frowned as he looked over Klaus's shoulder. "I don't recognize her."

"Well don't tell her that, Rebekah's temper is worse than mine."

"Rebekah?" Stefan asked, and he and Caroline both winced at the squelching noise as Klaus pulled the dagger out of his sister.

Caroline's eyes were glued to his sister's body, and he fought down a smile at the look of awe spreading across her face. "Caroline love," he said softly, and her eyes snapped to his. "Go fetch a human for her to feed on."

"Yes, sir," she said sarcastically, turning to the door with a flip of her hair, her heels clicking against the floor as she stalked off.

She really was exquisite when she was angry.

He turned back to Rebekah, Stefan still looking at her, clearly trying to figure out how he was supposed to know her.

"Time to wake up little sister," he said softly.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. I'm curious to see what you guys think of Elena's role in this. Katherine is scheming as usual. Do we have any guesses about how that plan will carry out? Any guesses on how Rebekah's reaction to Caroline will play out? Any theories about Lara's role?  
Please review and let me know what you think! I'm excited to hear your thoughts. :)  
You can catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie, which also has a link to my polyvore for the outfits that go along with this chapter.  
Hugs!  
-Angie**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm sorry. I suck. Writer's block and school starting have been murdering my motivation. I'm glad that I finally got this out, and I hope you guys like it. Thank you to Sophie for looking it over.  
** **Enjoy!  
** **-Angie**

* * *

 **Chicago, Illinois - Present**

Caroline tried not to grumble to herself as she walked through the streets searching for a suitable candidate. To be perfectly honest, she was stalling for time. She was inexplicably (but totally justifiably, in her opinion) nervous about meeting her aunt, especially without her father present. Rebekah, from what she knew, was very volatile. She had an unpredictable temper and a mean streak a mile wide, but would go to the ends of the earth to protect the ones she loved.

Caroline sighed, thankful she'd managed to keep her phone on her, and decided to take the opportunity to finally check the messages that she knew she must have accumulated.

She turned on her phone, wincing at the onslaught of notifications streaming onto her home screen.

 _Oh, god, Lara…_

She winced as she heard her friend's voice come over the speaker.

" _Hey, Care. It's Lara. Just checking in to make sure everything went okay with your mission. Looking forward to hearing from you soon."_

 _"Hey, Care, it's Lara. You haven't texted or emailed me back for a few days, so I just wanted to make sure that everything was going okay. If you could give me a call back, that would be great. I hope you're having fun in the U.S."_

Caroline bit her lip as she listened to her friend's messages before skipping to the next one, which was from Elena, and Caroline had to resist the urge to snort derisively as she listened to it. _"Caroline, I'm worried about Stefan. If you can, please tell me where you are so I can come. He needs to come home."_

Stefan was lost, and the sooner the other girl realized it, the better.

The next message was from Katherine, who was speaking in rapid-fire Bulgarian. Caroline had been semi-forced by Elijah to learn the language in order to interact with Katherine more effectively, something she still wholly resented.

She sounded like she was in a crowded area, and Caroline was willing to bet that the other woman was banking on no one else around her speaking the language. Caroline rewound the message and listened to it again, mentally translating it.

" _Elena and Damon are trying to find you. We're going to distract Elena and Bonnie to prevent that. Damon's an idiot, but he could cause problems for us. Their powers could come in handy. Any way you could help with that would be appreciated. Because Elijah hasn't been undaggered, I'm assuming that you haven't been successful in creating the werewolf pack. I'm going to attempt to recruit Mason Lockwood's to buy my freedom. I'm showing a lot of trust in you by telling you this, Caroline. Don't betray it. We're on the same side. Keep me updated."_

The click of Katherine hanging up seemed to echo in her ears.

She sighed, considering her options. It would be good to have Elena distracted, it was true, and she was completely on board with the plan to buy Katherine's freedom, if only because it meant the woman would be out of her damn hair.

She knew what she had to do, and though she was reluctant to bring Lara into it, they'd been friends for...well, what felt like _forever_ (witches had excellent means of staying young, and Lara was exceptionally powerful), and if there was any time to call in a ginormous favor, now would be it.

Before she lost her nerve, she pressed Lara's contact number and held the phone to her hear.

" _Oh my god, Caroline! Are you okay? What's going on?"_

All the air left her lungs, and she felt like she might start crying, the reality of the situation seeming to crash around her all at once, and she found the story spilling from her lips in a rush.

Lara waited patiently as Caroline told her friend everything, taking a deep shuddering breath at the end, and Lara was silent for a moment before she spoke.

" _And so I assume that you want me to train the girls to keep them out of your hair?"_

" _You read my mind,"_ Caroline said, letting the intense relief she felt permeate her voice.

" _Well, I can probably get a flight by tomorrow."_

" _Thank you so much, Lar! You're the best. Just get them to trust you and keep them from doing anything stupid, please."_

" _No problem."_

" _And if you could keep an eye on Katherine… I mean, I'd love to say that I trust her, but–"_

" _Don't worry, if you trust Katherine Pierce, you're an idiot,"_ Lara said bluntly, and Caroline laughed.

" _Exactly. I'll talk to you soon?"_

" _Of course. Good luck, and don't let Klaus get too obsessed with you,"_ Lara said, clearly only half-joking.

" _I'll try_."

They said their goodbyes and Caroline hung up, pausing as she had a wave of deja vu from the surrounding area, and sighed. She'd never been back to Chicago, simply because she hadn't wanted to be tempted to learn about her past.

There was no point, after all. Her parents weren't nice people, and they were human, and Elijah was the one who'd taken care of her and raised her. He wouldn't want her to snoop, and she knew it.

However, she found herself less inclined to listen to the niggling voice in her head that spoke with Elijah's formal tone. Perhaps it was because he was daggered, but she felt less inclined to respond to his urgings for her not to give into her impulses. He'd never have to know, after all.

However, now was not the time to explore her heritage. She had to find someone for Rebekah to feed from so that she could wake up.

Caroline sighed, still walking and observing the people passing by, trying to spot someone that looked around her aunt's size, simply because she'd seen the flapper dress, and that wasn't exactly twenty-first century appropriate.

She finally spied a young woman around their size and had a brief inner struggle about the ethics of taking someone off the street, knowing it was quite likely the girl would end up dead.

In the end, she wasn't willing to compromise her word and her loyalty to her father for the life of a girl she barely knew.

She ignored the guilt chewing through her gut as she greeted the other girl and compelled her to follow her back to the warehouse.

 **XXX**

Klaus leaned against the wall, his face twisted into a smirk, ignoring Stefan's attempts to question him about what he'd said about Rebekah. He was mostly tuning the other man out, instead running through all the possible plans and back-up plans that he could construct to accomplish his goals.

Stefan was a peace offering to his sister, and he hoped it would be enough to convince her to help him contact their mother. If he wasn't, however, he'd need to find other motivation, and he was honestly unsure of whether Caroline's presence would hinder or help his goals.

Despite that, he had a feeling she could come in useful later, and if he was honest with himself, a skill that he had perfected over his thousand years of life, he preferred to keep the girl, regardless of whether she would be useful or not.

He looked up when he heard the click of heels against concrete, and Caroline walked in, a clearly compelled woman obediently trailing behind her. She stopped with her arms crossed, glaring at Klaus.

"Thank you, love. I very much appreciate your assistance."

She scoffed, letting her fangs emerge and sinking them into the woman's wrist before ordering him to hold it to Rebekah's mouth. He watched as the color slowly returned to Rebekah's cheeks, and she moved to clutch the woman's wrist to her lips before her eyes opened and she pulled her forward by the front of her shirt. Rebekah's fangs sunk into the woman's neck, feeding until she drained her dry, letting the corpse fall to the floor with a light thump.

She was up in an instant, and he prepared himself for the pain of the dagger in his chest. Best to let her take out her anger initially so that she'd be better-behaved later.

"Go to hell, Nik!"

Wincing, he pulled the dagger out, letting it clatter to the floor. "Don't pout. You knew it wouldn't kill me," he said, giving her a smug smirk.

"No, but I was hoping it would hurt more," his sister said petulantly, stalking off toward the door and stopping short when she saw Stefan and Caroline.

"I understand that you're upset with me, Rebekah," Klaus started, laying a hand confidently on her shoulder. "So I'm going to let the petty display of violence go, just this once. As you can see, I've brought you a peace offering."

Rebekah didn't appear to be listening, instead staring at Stefan. "Stefan," she breathed, a smile blooming on her face.

Stefan shifted awkwardly, clearly confused, and Klaus walked over, laying a hand on his shoulder and catching his eye. "You remember."

He smirked as Stefan swayed a bit on his feet, apparently dazed, before blinking rapidly. "Rebekah."

They stared at each other for a moment before Rebekah seemed to gather herself and abruptly turned to Caroline. "And who's this, Nik? A new little witch _friend_? And why is she dressed like a prostitute?"

"I am _not_ dressed like a prostitute," Caroline growled, and Klaus ducked his head, trying not to grin. "Everyone dresses like this. And I'm not a witch, or his friend."

"How long, Nik?" Rebekah demanded, ignoring Caroline's words and whirling around to glare at him.

"Ninety years or so," he said calmly, twirling the dagger he'd picked up between his fingers, a pointed threat.

"A bloody _century_ , Nik? Really?"

"Really," he confirmed, dimpled smile in full force.

"You're a bloody prick."

He simply shrugged, clasping his hands behind his back and bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Perhaps. Now, wouldn't you like me to introduce you to sweet Caroline?"

He did enjoy the fury in Caroline's eyes when she looked at him, grinding her teeth. "I can introduce myself, thank you."

"Well, get to it, then."

Caroline huffed and turned to Rebekah. "I'm Caroline. Elijah's daughter."

"And I'm the Queen," Rebekah said disdainfully. "Vampires can't have children."

"They can adopt," Caroline pointed out, her voice almost haughty.

Rebekah pressed her lips together, eyes narrowed, before scoffing. "Of course he did. He was trying to replace me with you. Where is he, Nik?"

" _Someone_ decided to dagger him," Caroline said shortly, throwing a rather unnecessary glare in his direction.

"Well, Nik will just have to _un_ dagger him, then."

"That's not really a feasible option at the moment, Bekah."

"And why not?"

"Because he tried to kill me."

"Why would Elijah try to kill you, Nik?"

"Because he thought you were dead," Caroline said quietly.

"It matters not, however, as I am now invincible."

"You broke the curse?" Rebekah asked immediately, and he smirked.

His sister was many things, but stupid was not one of them.

"Yes."

"Well I would offer my congratulations if you weren't being such a prat," Rebekah said haughtily before turning back to Stefan. "So, Stefan. How have you been?"

Stefan, still clearly coming to terms with what had _really_ happened in the 1920s, didn't answer, and Rebekah seemed to deflate slightly. Klaus suppressed an eyeroll at his sister's sentimentality, instead, clasping his hands together in front of him.

"So, Sister, I regret to say that I have not undaggered you out of the goodness of my heart."

Rebekah snorted. "I already figured that out Nik, thank you. I'm not an idiot. What do you need?"

"I broke the curse, which means that I should be able to make hybrids," Klaus said slowly. "However, when I attempted to guide a pack through their transition, they all died rather painful deaths. Therefore, I'd like to contact the Original Witch."

Rebekah huffed. "I see. Of course. This is about your replacement family."

"Not replacement, Bekah. Additional. So may I ask where the necklace is?"

"What do you mean, Nik," Rebekah said haughtily, her hand flying to her neck, before her eyes widened rather comically. "Where's my necklace?"

"I don't know, that's why I was asking _you._ "

"I never take it off," Rebekah snapped, starting to pat herself down, despite the fact that her dress had no pockets. "Where _is it,_ Nik?"

"Are you telling me that you _lost_ the necklace?"

"I don't know how," she said, almost absently, speeding over to the coffin and running her hands over the velvet lining before gritting her teeth and throwing it with a roar, the wood shattering against the wall.

Klaus sighed. "Now, Rebekah, let's not get violent. We'll have to buy you a new one," he said long-sufferingly.

"Nik, now is not the time for thinly veiled dagger threats," she growled before turning to Caroline. "You, girl, do you know anything? Did Elijah take my necklace?"

"No, I don't, and don't call me 'girl'. My name is Caroline."

Rebekah gave an elegant shrug, and tossed her hair, strutting to the other side of the room and inspecting the woman Caroline had brought, curling her lip. "In the unlikely case that it was purposeful that you brought me a human close to my size, I congratulate you. I assume that it won't do to walk out in this?"

He subtly shot a look at Caroline, who was clearly trying not to look too happy at the praise.

The poor thing needed to stop displaying her feelings so obviously, no matter how enticing she looked with her plump lower lip worried between her teeth.

He could tell that she felt his gaze locked on her, because she stiffened and looked up. He made sure to pointedly lick his lips, making her fidget, her eyes darkening in embarrassment and anger as she flipped her hair, looking away.

She really was stunning.

* * *

 **Mystic Falls, Virginia - Present**

She observed her prey from across the bar, not bothering to take more than a few seconds to consider the irony of dubbing a werewolf prey.

Katherine knew who Jules was from Mason Lockwood, as well as by reputation. She was strictly anti-vampire, and the alpha of one of the biggest packs in the United States.

And it went without saying that every supernatural creature knew the story of Katherine Pierce.

The other woman kept glancing over, and Katherine sipped her whiskey casually, sparing Jules a pointed glance every minute or so.

It was clear that Jules had become frustrated, because she stood up abruptly, stalking over to Katherine and leaning against the counter. "What do you want?"

"The same thing as you do."

"Well, that's a riddle if I ever heard one," Jules muttered. "I want a lot of things. You could compel us both a jetski. That would be super helpful."

Jules signaled to the bartender for another shot and threw it back quickly, slamming the glass down.

"No, I was thinking more...killing Klaus."

"Not to rain on your parade or anything, but Mason is dead, and he was the one who cared about Tyler, not me. Sure, I'm sad the kid is dead, but revenge isn't worth it."

"You seem to not fully understand the situation."

"Oh?"

Katherine nodded, throwing back her own shot and motioning for Matt to pour another. "Now that Klaus is a hybrid, he can make _other_ hybrids. I'll bet you anything that he's scouring the earth for every werewolf pack in existence, and guess who has a werewolf pack? Oh. Right. _You_."

Jules froze.

"Do you want your entire pack to be turned into blood-sucking monsters?" Katherine asked, keeping her voice deceptively innocent.

"I'm listening," Jules said through gritted teeth.

"So, as I said, we want the same thing. I want Klaus dead, you want Klaus dead...It's perfect."

"Why do you want Klaus dead?" Jules asked.

"That's none of your business. The important thing is that I want what you want."

"I'm going to need a bit more to go on."

"Well, that's unfortunate for you," Katherine said dryly. "I'll help you kill him, or I'll turn you and your pack over to him to get what I want. Your choice sweetcheeks."

Jules scoffed, but looked contemplative before nodding slowly. "Fine. What's your plan?"

Katherine smirked and began to talk.

It had been a lot easier than she'd expected to get Jules to go along with her plan. Katherine's plan was simple. She was going to have Jules and her pack help her rescue Elijah, and then turn them over to Klaus as a gesture of good faith in exchange for her and Caroline's freedom, which would make Elijah happy. It pretty much killed an entire flock of birds with one stone.

The woman was astronomically stupid, really. Jules should know better than to trust Katherine Pierce.

* * *

 **Chicago, Illinois - Present**

Rebekah turned from side to side, inspecting her silhouette in the mirror.

The dress was so _short_. The feeling of abrupt change and culture shock was quite familiar (she'd been daggered before), but that didn't make it comfortable.

"There has to be more to this dress," she announced, stepping out of the dressing room, hands on her hips.

"No, Rebekah, there isn't."

"So, women of the 21st century dress like prostitutes, then? I got dirty looks for wearing trousers."

"You wore trousers so women today could wear nothing," Klaus said, sipping his champagne, though Rebekah noticed his eyes float to the girl-Caroline-who was sitting uncomfortably, her skirt riding up enough to show miles of leg, top snug around her breasts.

She had a feeling that her brother was _quite_ thankful for the apparent change in fashion since the 1920s.

He seemed a bit fond of the girl (though purely in the thinking-with-his-prick way), and Rebekah considered whether that was a weakness she could exploit. Of course, the girl was apparently Elijah's daughter, a laughable concept if she'd ever heard one, and yet it was one that was completely plausible.

Elijah clung to preserving family relationships and unity, and if he'd thought that she was gone and Klaus had killed them all, it would have made sense for him to gain a companion to comfort himself. The fact that the girl was so similar in looks to Rebekah did not escape her notice.

Yes, Elijah had most definitely used Caroline as a replacement for her, and just for that, Rebekah had half a mind to kill her.

However, if Elijah did indeed see the girl as a daughter, there would be consequences to harming her, and Rebekah wasn't exactly keen on invoking Elijah's wrath.

"What do you think, Caroline?" she asked, her voice sharp, and the girl swallowed, tilting her head to the side.

"I think," Caroline said slowly, trailing off, making Rebekah raise her eyebrows. "I think that the dress might be a bit small in the hip. It's not the most flattering cut."

Rebekah turned to the mirror hanging on the wall outside of the dressing room, turning to the side again, completely prepared to rip the girl's throat out (regardless of Elijah's affections for her), but paused as she saw the wrinkles in the back of the dress.

She turned to Caroline again, her arms crossed. "You passed. I suppose you're not completely useless after all."

Caroline bristled, but Rebekah simply tossed her hair and plucked another dress off of the rack, going back behind the curtain.

"Well, you're quite useless, sister," she heard Klaus mutter.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked from the fitting room.

"I undaggered you for the necklace, and yet you've somehow lost it."

"I didn't _lose_ it, it's just been _missing_ for ninety years."

"See? Useless," Klaus spat, though from his tone she could tell that it was more teasing than disgusted.

"I'm going to go take a walk," she heard Stefan say.

Rebekah walked back out just as Stefan walked out of the shop, and she raised an eyebrow at her brother, who shrugged. "He's loyal. I'm sure it's all just a bit much right now."

"If you say so," she mumbled, turning to the mirror again.

"Caroline. Opinion," she ordered, snapping her fingers, and she saw Caroline's eyebrows fly up, clearly insulted, though the other girl obligingly eyed the outfit critically.

"Cute dress, but the shoes don't go."

"I agree," Rebekah said, shooting the other girl a calculating look. "You say that you're Elijah's daughter?"

"Yes."

"Nik? Leave us a moment."

"And why should I, Bekah?"

"Because you left me in a coffin for 90 years and owe me at least this tiny favor. Go tail Stefan or something."

Klaus snorted but stood up, setting his wine on the table and nodded. "Fine. I'll give you forty minutes. Don't run."

Rebekah snorted. "Only because I have no wish to."

Rebekah watched him leave before turning to Caroline. "Tell me more."

"About?" Caroline said slowly.

"Elijah. How did he get daggered? Where is he?"

Rebekah struggled to keep her expression blank as Caroline spoke, keeping the story restricted to the important points (something Rebekah greatly appreciated), and she found herself reluctantly acknowledging that Elijah might have seen some reasonably good qualities in the girl.

She nodded along, asking questions when she needed clarification, and when Caroline finally seemed to run out of things to say, Rebekah pinned her with a look that made most people intensely uncomfortable, though Caroline didn't seem to mind.

Then again, she'd grown up with Elijah, the King of Disapproving and Judgy Glances.

"Just so we're clear, your presence is Elijah's fault, not mine," Rebekah said coldly, and to her credit, Caroline's face didn't fall in the slightest.

"You don't choose your family," the other girl said.

"You're not my family. You're Elijah's, though I suppose that once we undagger him, he'll insist that you're mine by extension."

She knew that Caroline didn't miss her casual placement of them both on the same side, and inwardly congratulated Elijah on at least not picking an idiot.

"Probably. He's a bit sappy like that."

Rebekah resisted the urge to snort derisively. The girl, after all, spoke the truth. "Just don't call me Aunt Rebekah. It makes me feel old."

"You are old," Caroline pointed out, clearly not thinking through her answer, and Rebekah smiled slowly.

The girl had nerve. Perhaps the trip to find the necklace wouldn't be so boring after all.

* * *

 **Chicago, Illinois - 1929**

"You killed her," Elijah said hollowly.

"I did," Klaus confirmed. "A coffin was too good for her."

"Are you insane, Niklaus? Mikael is after us with the goal of killing us all, and you do his work for him by _killing our sister_?"

"She tried to _leave_ me!"

"She was in _love_!" Elijah shouted.

"No, brother. She _thought_ she was in love. Rebekah gives her heart too freely and welcomes the pain from it. She was just a silly girl with bad judgment."

He saw Elijah draw himself up to his full height, his brother's teeth gritted, posture stiff. "I must go before I kill you myself."

"You could try, but you would not succeed."

Elijah sped off, and Klaus followed, speeding to a stop in front of his brother, making them slam into each other, burying his hand in his brother's chest. Elijah broke his wrist and threw him across the street before kicking Klaus in the kneecaps, making him wince, and grabbing his head.

"I will find you if you run, brother," Klaus growled. He had never seen Elijah with such rage in his eyes as his world went black.

When Klaus woke, the street was only slightly darker, and he sat up slowly, checking his watch quickly to see that only half an hour had passed. He pulled himself up gingerly, twisting his body slightly to check his range of movement, before closing his eyes and speeding off in the direction of the scent he identified as Elijah's, straining his ears for the sound of his voice. The scent was particularly strong in an alleyway, where Klaus saw the body of a woman lying on the concrete. Sparing the woman no further thought, other than noting that Elijah must have fed, Klaus continued on, losing the scent of his brother in the crowd once he reached a populated park.

Klaus had never expected Elijah to believe that he'd _actually_ killed Rebekah, but then again, his brother wasn't exactly known for his fabulous grasp of sarcasm.

Though Elijah was able to be sarcastic himself, he often had difficulty recognizing it from others.

Either way, it was most likely safer this way for both of them. Klaus had no doubt that he would be Mikael's first priority.

He couldn't help but wonder how Mikael had found them. They'd been very, _very_ careful after the disaster in New Orleans. There had to have been someone on the inside, someone who had been observing them without his knowledge.

The second option made his skin crawl, but there was nothing to be done about it now, really. He'd simply have to run, just as they had been doing for a thousand years, though this time he would be alone.

He had a strange feeling that would make it a _lot_ easier.

* * *

 **Chicago, Illinois - Present**

Klaus suspected that the woman he had noticed in the alley all those years ago had been Caroline's mother, and that gave him a starting point. He set off for the building where the public records were kept, compelling his way in, and set to work, looking through them for any possible information on Caroline.

He started with birth certificates, and found multiple Carolines born in 1924 and 1925 in Chicago. He took photos of all the certificates on his phone before moving on to look up the families.

He'd gone through five of the thirty-two families by the time his phone alarm went off, indicating that it was time to head back to the boutique where Rebekah and Caroline were talking.

There was something about Caroline that piqued his interest, and he couldn't help but want to know as much as possible about her, as well as gain any possible leverage. He'd made up his mind to have the girl, but he'd sensed that it might be more difficult than he'd originally believed to convince her to comply with his wishes.

He'd earn her trust, bit by bit, tempt her with information about her past, and charm her with stories of the world. He'd got the impression that Elijah had failed to allow her much freedom, and he could take advantage of that.

He saw the way she shifted when he looked at her, the way her skin flushed when he caressed her name as he spoke it. She was obviously attracted to him, whether she wanted to be or not, and was also clearly embarrassed by it. Sweet little Caroline was such a pretty piece of prey for him, and he had every intention of sampling every sweet succulent inch of her.

He was thankful, really, that Elijah had seen the need for a companion. Revenge on his brother would otherwise most certainly not have been so pleasurable.

 **XXX**

Caroline was curled on the hotel bed, reading a book. After Klaus had returned from wherever he'd been, he'd sketched a picture of the necklace and shown it to both Caroline and Stefan, asking if they'd ever seen it. Caroline hadn't remembered, but she felt like Stefan might have been lying, and she had no doubt that Klaus, and most likely Rebekah, had sensed it too, though neither had said anything.

Caroline looked up when Klaus entered the room without knocking, scowling at his complete disregard for her privacy.

"Knock, much?"

"I'm paying for the room, therefore it is mine, therefore there is no need," he said airily, sinking down on the edge of the bed, his body less than a foot from her hip, propping his feet on the wooden side table.

"What do you want?" she asked, paying no mind to her rudeness, trying to subtly edge away (though she knew that he could tell).

"Am I not allowed to simply come to seek the pleasure of your company?"

"What do you _want_ , Klaus?"

"Many things, love," he said, his smile wide and lecherous.

She bristled. "Don't call me love," she spat for what felt like the millionth time.

As usual, though, he just shrugged and edged even closer to her, invading her personal space so that his scent filled her lungs. "I'm going to need you to do me a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"I need you to tail Stefan for me. Can you do that?"

"Why?" she asked, glaring up at him, trying not to flinch.

"I suspect he may be...fraternizing with some people who wish to do me harm. Please take care of it, sweetheart."

"Stop with the pet names. It's creepy."

He shrugged. "If you say so, Caroline."

Her name fell from his mouth in such a way that she'd almost rather he called her sweetheart, not that she'd ever admit it. He seemed to pick up on her line of thought, however, as he winked at her almost playfully, standing up and patting her on the thigh, dangerously close to her hip.

"Don't touch me."

"My apologies. I suppose it was uncouth of me to let my hand rest upon a lady without her permission," he acknowledged with a tip of his head, and she bared her teeth at him, feeling the veins creep up under her cheeks as the rage bubbled within her. "I expect you to begin immediately."

He cocked his head to the side, listening, and she followed his example, scowling as she heard Stefan's hotel room door open and close. "You'd better get on that sweethe-excuse me, _Caroline_."

She curled her lip and pushed off of the hotel bed, grabbing her purse and stalking out of the room, resisting the urge to grumble to herself.

Stefan was walking quickly, and she tailed him to a nearby alley next to the hotel. Pressing herself against the wall of the building, she crept towards the conversation happening, pausing to listen to it.

"You shouldn't be here, Elena."

Caroline resisted the urge to facepalm. Honestly, did that girl have _no_ sense of self-preservation?

"We're here to rescue you."

"I don't need rescuing. I need to do this."

"No you don't, Stefan. Come home."

Caroline rolled her eyes.

"I can't, Elena. It's complicated, and–"

"Are you saying it's too complicated for me to understand?"

"No. It's just...it's dangerous, okay? You shouldn't be here."

"Of course I should. I'm in _love_ with you, Stefan. We're in love."

"No, you're seventeen and you're an idiot," Caroline snapped, not caring that she probably wasn't supposed to let Stefan know that she was tailing him, but simply frustrated with the situation. "He's right, Elena. You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous, and you're going to get yourself killed."

"Caroline," Stefan said, and she frowned as she heard the genuine fear bleeding into it.

"What's your problem?" she snapped. "I'm right, and you know it, because you _agreed_ with me."

"Right. Yeah. I do," he said uncomfortably, and Caroline wondered how Stefan had gotten through life being this terrible of a liar.

She turned to Elena, frowning. "Look, Elena. You should go home. Once we finish our...mission...Stefan will be back, good as new, and you'll be fine. Okay?"

Elena was shrouded in the shadow of the alleyway, but when the girl shifted, Caroline caught a glimpse of a glint of metal around her neck, and her eyes widened.

Elena had the necklace.

That explained Stefan's terror, and Caroline tried to cover her expression up as best she could, hoping Stefan hadn't seen. "You need to go home, Elena," she repeated.

"But, I can't–"

"Go home," Caroline ordered. "Stefan can call you with updates or something, but you can't be here."

Elena's chin jutted out in stubbornness, and Caroline wondered, not for the first time, if she'd been that obnoxious as a seventeen year old. "I came all the way out here to see Stefan–"

"And now you've seen him. Go home, Elena."

Caroline turned on her heel and took a few steps back towards the hotel. "He knows you're out, Stefan. He sent me to get you."

A lie, but he'd never know.

"You're not safe here, Elena," she heard Stefan say softly, and rolled her eyes as she heard the sound of him giving her a soft kiss, Elena's breath whooshing out of her lungs as he pulled away. "Go home. I love you."

"I love you too, Stefan," Elena said tearfully.

Caroline waited only another moment before snappishly asking if they were done and pulling Stefan towards the hotel by the upper arm.

He didn't mention the necklace, most likely hoping that Caroline hadn't seen it, or if she had, she liked Elenaganger enough to keep quiet about it (which, frankly, she didn't). However, she wasn't sure she wanted the necklace to be in Klaus's hands either.

Her father would have given her a lecture on the importance of human life, and how Klaus was most likely perfectly capable of finding an alternate way to contact Esther. There was no need to put Elenaganger's life in danger again. However, Caroline was on a very tight schedule, thank you, and she wanted her father back sooner rather than later.

The question was, was potentially sacrificing Elenaganger worth getting her father back just a bit earlier? What was another year or so when one was immortal?

Especially when she'd receive her father's 'I'm judging you very harshly and am also quite disappointed in you, young lady' face.

Once again, she'd found herself drifting further and further away from listening to Elijah's disapproving voice inside her head, and it was really quite a foreign feeling. She'd gone through her life being an obedient, perfect daughter, and she had never had an interest in deviating from that habit until her father had been daggered.

Just because Elijah wouldn't approve didn't mean the idea of turning in Elena to Klaus was automatically bad, she decided. Sure, it wasn't exactly the most ethical thing to do, but they were vampires anyway. Plus, her father had forever to forgive her.

Still though, she felt uneasy, and she decided to sleep on it.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm interested to hear what you guys think about how I'm changing canon around a little bit. Excited for Rebekah and Caroline's friendship to grow? Any guesses for how the plot will continue to diverge from the show, especially since Tyler and Jeremy are both dead? I'd like to remind you all that, unlike most of my stories, this will be a slow, _slow_ burn.  
As always, you can catch me on tumblr at thetourguidebarbie, and I usually answer guest reviews and post news about my update schedule (which will be a bit all over the place for awhile) there.**

 **Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!  
Hugs!  
-Angie**


	6. Chapter 6

I'm sorry that it's been a while. Thank you to Sophie and Kaitlyn for beta work.

* * *

 **Chicago, Illinois - Present**

As soon as Caroline left to tail Stefan, Klaus went back to City Hall to look at more files, compelling the security guard to let him in. Knowing that he most likely had only an hour or so, he decided to abandon his previous plan of taking pictures and simply made copies of all of the files, stuffing the large stack of paper into a box and carrying it under his arm back to the hotel.

He sat on the bed and locked the door, going through everything he'd found, setting the papers aside that he knew weren't relevant, but not throwing it out in case he'd been wrong.

He smirked when he finally found the papers he'd been looking for. The dates of death and birth matched perfectly, and though he'd go through the rest just to make sure, he had almost no doubt that this was the information he'd wanted about Caroline's biological family. There wasn't much, but it was enough to confirm what he'd suspected about the line of work they were involved in.

He knew that Elijah must have the information (he would have been stupid not to find out everything he could about Caroline's origins), but he doubted that his brother had relayed it to Caroline, especially since it seemed that she was determined not to know.

He found it odd, her obvious devotion to his brother. Yes, he'd raised her, and it was clear from the tabs he'd kept on them that Elijah doted on her, but there was something off about it. He felt her blind loyalty tapering away slowly though, and he knew that this was the first time she'd been out on her own without Elijah around. Perhaps she was just seeing the world with new eyes.

Still though, he thought as he slipped the relevant papers into a manilla folder and put the rest back in the box to throw out, he'd offer to show Caroline what the file contained. The girl seemed naturally curious, and dangling the information in front of her with no apparent catch would no doubt be tempting to her, though he knew that she was smart enough to know that there was _always_ a catch with him.

He heard Caroline's voice as she walked down the hallway, clearly talking to Stefan.

"...so reckless and stupid! I'm going to have to tell him, Stefan."

"Please don't-"

"Tell me what, love?" Klaus asked, walking into the hallway, his hands in his pockets, his eyes raking up and down Caroline's form, appreciating his good taste in clothes (and women).

She bristled as he looked at her, a pretty blush staining her cheeks as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I want to talk to you alone."

"Oh?"

"Caroline, don't."

"Yeah," she said, talking over Stefan and avoiding his eyes, and he could tell that there was more to the story, but resolved to get it once Stefan left in the hopes that she'd crack more easily.

"Ripper, go sit in your hotel room and brood about the doppelgangers or whatever it is you do when you're alone. I'd like to have a word with Caroline."

Caroline remained silent as Stefan went back to his hotel room, and Klaus held the door to his open for her, gesturing for her to precede him.

She walked by him, and he caught the familiar scent of the doppelganger lingering on her clothes. His mind raced as he tried to figure out what that could mean, and he watched her as she stood in the center of the room, looking uncharacteristically nervous. He shut the door behind him and tried to fight down a smile as she looked around the room, clearly considering her choices for where to sitting before opting to stand. "So, love. Tell me what's on your mind."

She was quiet for a few seconds, the inner debate obvious by the twist of her lips. "I want a deal."

"A deal?" Klaus asked, feeling a smile spread across his face. "What kind of deal could you possibly offer me?"

"I have information that you want," she said quietly. "If I tell you, you have to promise me that you'll undagger Elijah as soon as we get back."

"That's not happening, sweetheart. Not until I get my army."

"Then I won't tell you."

"Well, judging by the timing of it, as well as what I overheard in the hallway, you caught Stefan about to do something incredibly stupid when you were on your walk. Is that right?"

Caroline remained silent, and Klaus smirked.

"Now, love, if you don't tell me, I'll just have to guess."

She was stubborn, and he coveted the loyalty she had to Elijah. She stared at him silently, her eyes narrowed as she stared him down.

"Considering the scent clinging to your dress, I'm going to hazard a guess that the lovely Elena is still alive somehow, and that she managed to find the Ripper while you were out on your walk. Am I on the right track?"

She remained silent, though he caught the twitch of her eye and knew that he was close. He decided to continue, hoping to glean additional information from her body language.

"Considering the Ripper's insistence that you not tell me whatever you saw, I would theorize at first glance that your information is that Elena lives. Unfortunately, that doesn't quite add up now, does it love? I wouldn't have any reason to go after Elena, unless it was for petty revenge that she somehow lived through my ritual. However, I'd prefer to keep that leverage alive now that I know it's there, and you're smart enough to know that, isn't that right, sweetheart?"

She shrugged, still not answering, but that only made the game all the more fun.

"Now, the question is, what information could possibly be important enough regarding the doppelganger that you think it would be worth undaggering my brother?" Klaus asked, his hands clasped behind his back as he paced, giving Caroline a small smirk. "Considering that I'm desperately seeking information on my sister's necklace, I'm going to assume that you think that's the leverage you can use to get Elijah back. It's logical to think that Stefan may have gotten ahold of Rebekah's necklace somehow. Perhaps she gave it to him as a token to remember her by, though I find that unlikely. A more reasonable assumption is that he took it or found it somehow. Now, I have no doubt that he would discover its unique power of protection from compulsion, and would give that necklace to his sweet Elena. So, judging by that line of thought, your information would be that Elena has the necklace that I need to contact the Original Witch to learn how to make my hybrids. Am I warm?"

He could tell by the furrow of her brow that she was inwardly debating the pros and cons of lying to his face. He knew that his theory was correct just based on her non-verbal reactions, and the information was now completely useless as leverage. Caroline had apparently realized that, judging by her indecision.

He was proven right when she spoke.

"Sizzling," she said through gritted teeth.

"Excellent," he said with a grin, reaching to tug a curl of her hair between his fingers. She didn't flinch, simply glowering at him as he invaded her personal space, almost nose to nose with her, letting go of her hair to cup her cheek. "Thank you, sweetheart. You've been most helpful."

She jerked away with a growl, and he let her move, his lips curling into a smirk at her resistance. "I do have another thing to discuss, sweetheart."

"I don't want to discuss anything."

"You might once I tell you what it is."

"Is it about my father?"

"Your biological one, yes."

" _He's_ not my father," she muttered, though he could see the glimmer of curiosity in her eyes even as she tried to keep her face neutral. Klaus stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring at her as she held his gaze determinedly. "I don't care about anything you could tell me."

"Is that so, sweetheart? Not interested in any information about Elizabeth and William Forbes?"

"How did you know their names?" Caroline asked quietly, her voice cold.

"When I take an interest in something, I learn as much about it as I am able."

"I'm not a thing. Or an it."

"You're not," he agreed. "But let's not lie to me about your lack of interest. I don't like it."

"I don't care what you like, and I don't care about my biological parents, and I don't care what you want from me. I'm here to get my _real_ father back, okay? That's it."

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much," Klaus whispered, his voice low and cajoling, and he watched her grit her teeth as she clenched her fists, a flush beginning to build in her cheeks. He knew it was probably from shame rather than anger, judging the scent of her reluctant arousal blooming in the air.

"Of course I don't care. Elizabeth died when I was four after William left us. I don't know much about either of them. I took my father to her house after he found me and he found cocaine. Lots of it. For the time period, anyway. We don't know what it was for, but he thinks that they were dealers. They weren't good people."

"Ah, but that's not all your history."

Caroline froze. "What do you mean?"

"Did you never wonder where your father went?"

"My father is alive," Caroline said harshly.

"Your biological father, then."

"He died when he left."

"And whose word do you have for that?"

"My real father. Not that it's any of your business. No matter how interested you are in me, I'm not at all interested in my past, or what you know about it."

"Now, Caroline, I think you might be being a bit dishonest with yourself about both of those claims."

She glared at him, her lips pressed together tightly. "Again, if I am anything at all, it's honest. And _honestly,_ you need to stop," she growled, turning around and stomping off to the door. He watched her go, a small smile on his face.

"Do tell my sister and the Ripper that they should be ready to leave for Mystic Falls within the hour," he called after her.

* * *

 **Mystic Falls, Virginia - Present**

"Katherine."

Katherine smirked, turning around to face her shadow self, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised. "Elena. What an unpleasant surprise."

Elena grimaced, shifting on both feet, her hands twisting together. "I need your help," she said quietly.

Katherine tried to hold back her laugh. She really did. Elena looked at her reproachfully as Katherine stifled her cruel smile. "What could you possibly want from me?"

She knew very well what Elena wanted, and her suspicions were confirmed as Elena jutted her chin out, taking a deep breath. "I want to know about the Travelers. Our family."

"Okay," Katherine said slowly, inspecting her nails boredly. "I'll tell you anything you want to know. For a price, of course."

"What do you want?"

"Well, first of all, for you to get better at negotiating. That's a terrible question to ask. Second, your help getting Elijah back."

"Elijah?" Elena asked, her brow furrowing, and Katherine nodded. "Why do you want to undagger Elijah? Klaus isn't after you anymore, right?"

"I have my reasons," she said vaguely, and Elena cocked her head to the side.

"What would that involve?"

"Your magic."

"I'm not magical," Elena insisted, and Katherine resisted the urge to punch her shadow self in the face. She was human, and it could get messy. "Isabelle told me I am, but I've never done magic."

"Well, I promise that you are. Your magic is just bound, but that's easily fixed. I called in a friend to help."

Well, Caroline called in a friend, but Elena didn't need to know that.

"I don't want to be unbound. I don't want training. I'm so tired of being the one everyone wants to use for everything," Elena complained, and Katherine lost her patience.

"I don't care what you're trying to do or what you want. Not everything's about you," she said firmly. "Lara's coming her to help you unbind your powers and to teach you how to use them. That way, Elijah will get undaggered and it'll be easier for you to stay alive when you make dumb decisions. Everyone wins."

"They're not dumb! I'm just trying to help my friends. Everything that happens is my fault, and I just want to keep everyone alive. Everything's going wrong, and it's just so hard-"

"New rule: no whining," Katherine interrupted.

"I'm not whining. I'm just telling you how I feel."

"How did you come from my gene pool?" Katherine asked rhetorically. "Now, do you agree to my terms?"

"Yeah. I'll help you undagger Elijah," Elena said, and Katherine let herself smile.

"Excellent. Now, sit down and ask me anything you like."

Elena immediately jumped in with questions about what kind of magic she'd be able to do, who her family was, and how their magic got bound. Katherine practically counted down the minutes until it was time to leave, and when her phone alarm went off, she grabbed the other girl's wrist, tearing off the necklace (they could just get a new chain for it and no one would know the difference). "Stay on the couch and wait for us to come back."

"I'll stay on the couch and wait for you to come back," Elena repeated, glaring daggers at Katherine as she got up to leave.

"On the bright side for you, and unfortunately for me, unbinding your magic will make you non-compellable," Katherine said grumpily. "I'll be back with Lara in a bit."

Elena didn't answer, just sitting petulantly on the couch while determinedly looking at the carpet, shuffling her feet.

* * *

 **Chicago, Illinois - Present**

Caroline tried to resist the urge to grumble to herself as she packed her suitcase, knowing that the two Originals nearby would hear her. She was angry at herself for spilling the beans, knew that Elijah would have a few choice words for her when he was undaggered, but she honestly couldn't bring herself to care.

Saving her father was the most important thing at the moment, and she had to make some calculated sacrifices. She doubted that Klaus would actually kill Elena. Doppelganger blood was precious, had many more uses than just breaking his specific curse, and he wouldn't give up that sort of power. Sure, Elena would most likely be a walking blood bank for the rest of her life, but she'd be alive.

She checked her phone for the fifth time in as many minutes. She'd texted Katherine that Lara was coming back to Mystic Falls to help train the girls (but mostly to keep them in town so that they wouldn't run off and do anything stupid). However, Lara hadn't called yet to say that she'd landed safely, and it made Caroline worry. It was possible that she'd had a long layover and was still in the air, though.

Just as she looked away, her phone vibrated, and she picked it up and checked her texts.

[Katherine]: Your witch is here. She can't text because her phone plan doesn't cover international

[Katherine]: I bought her a burger on the way home from the airport so we're BFFs now

[Caroline]: k.

[Katherine]: Don't be passive aggressive. We're on the same team, remember?

[Katherine]: Speaking of, I need you to make a deal with Klaus.

[Caroline]: What kind of deal?

[Katherine]: I may or may not have told Jules to relocate her pack.

[Katherine]: I also may or may not know where they went.

[Katherine]: Tell Klaus I'll give him the info in exchange for Elijah.

Caroline snorted. She was not stupid enough to try to make that deal. She liked the small amount of trust she'd developed with him for coming to him about Elena. Even if she hadn't directly said anything, it had shown that she would pick him over Stefan. She did know that if she managed to get the location out of Katherine she'd get leverage though, and that could be valuable.

[Caroline]: Where are they?

[Katherine]: Why should I tell you?

[Caroline]: We're on the same team, remember?

Honestly, Caroline was planning on telling Klaus as soon as Katherine told her. She knew that Klaus could have a hundred different ways of finding the pack, and it would build more trust between them, which she desperately needed.

[Caroline]: You need to show me that I can trust you.

It took a full minute for Katherine to text back, the chat bubble that showed that she was typing disappearing and reappearing twice before she sent a single word.

[Katherine]: Glasco.

[Caroline]: ?

[Katherine]: It's in Kansas

[Caroline]: okay

[Caroline]: I'll ask him to make the deal.

[Katherine]: Good.

Caroline texted back a quick goodbye before putting her phone in her pocket and getting up, stretching. She knew her suitcase was only half-packed, but if they were going to make a stop in Kansas, it was better that Klaus knew sooner rather than later.

She walked out of the hotel room and knocked on Klaus's hotel room door, despite knowing that he would be able to hear her through the wall. He opened it, leaning against the doorway and staring at her. She was taken aback by the lack of the normal playful glint in his eye, the hard line of his mouth. It gave her a gut feeling that something was very, very wrong.

Hopefully this would cheer him up?

"I have something to tell you," she said in a rush, and Klaus raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?"

His voice was silky and dangerous, sending a shiver down Caroline's spine, but she stood up straight, keeping calm. "Katherine convinced Jules' pack to relocate to Glasco, Kansas. If we're going to make more hybrids after we contact the Original witch, they'd probably be a good choice."

"Why would they be such a good choice, love?"

She frowned at him, confused that he didn't seem surprised at the information (but hey, at least that meant that she could give Katherine a legitimate excuse for him knowing). "Um...Because they're warned, I guess. They know about the hybrid curse, so it's better to get them now before any of the other packs find out."

The corners of his lips tipped up ever so slightly, and Caroline could tell that she'd passed some sort of test. "Good girl," he said softly, reaching to tuck a curl behind her ear.

She flinched, wrinkling her nose. "I'm not a dog."

"I wasn't implying it," he said with an amused smile. "Can you blame a man for praising the loyalty of a treasured ally?"

She wanted to punch him in the face and tell him in no uncertain terms that her loyalty ended when the dagger was out of her father's chest, that she wasn't his ally, and if this was what it was like to be treasured by him, she honestly kind of understood why his family all wanted to leave him.

Instead, she gave him her best stink eye, forcing herself to remain calm. "How did you know, anyway?"

"I set up text forwarding on your phone," he said calmly, still playing absently with her hair. "Did you think I'd allow you to have any privacy when it's so clear that you're itching to betray me?"

Caroline gritted her teeth, the unwelcome feeling of helplessness surging through her. God, she _hated_ him. He dropped the curl from between his fingers, stepping back. "I'm glad you told me, sweetheart. It would be a shame for my brother to come back to his lover and his daughter dead from their insolence."

"You wouldn't," she said quietly. "Elijah would hate you, and deep down you care about him and his happiness."

Klaus cocked his head to the side, his lips twitching. "Love is a weakness, Caroline. It's a poison that numbs you to the dangers of the world around you. I highly suggest you learn to live without it."

"God, it must be so depressing to be you," she said before she could stop herself. "What's the point, then?"

"Power."

"And the hybrids? Wanting to have a community where you belong?" she asked, sensing that she was treading on thin ice, sort of wanting to see how far she could push him.

"Shut your pretty mouth sweetheart or I might decide you belong in a fire with a stake in your heart."

"Hit a nerve, did I?" she asked, and Klaus's teeth gritted, his hands clenching and unclenching as his entire body tensed. "Maybe if you didn't go out of your way to pretend to hate everyone so much, you wouldn't have to lock your family in-"

"Enough," he hissed, and she knew she'd put a toe over the line and needed to pull back immediately. "Perhaps I've been too lenient with you, hmm? Do you need a reminder of the deal you made?"

"No," she said firmly. "I told you where the pack was. I proved my loyalty."

 _For now._

"Perhaps," he said softly. "In any case, I suppose we'll have to take a detour to Glasco. Please inform Rebekah that we'll be subduing an entire pack of werewolves when we arrive. She'll want to wear some sensible shoes."

* * *

 **Mystic Falls, Virginia - Present**

Bonnie wasn't too sure about the witch that Katherine had brought. She seemed nice, but there was something about her that made her nervous. She'd watched with sharp eyes as Lara unbound Elena's magic, and nothing bad seemed to happen. Once that was done, Lara told them that she had to go unpack, but she'd be back soon, and Bonnie was free to try to help Elena with some basic spells.

So, now she was sitting with Elena on the living room floor attempting to teach her how to levitate feathers, and she was getting frustrated.

The key word in that sentence was 'attempting'.

She'd been friends with Elena since Kindergarten, and loved the girl like a sister, but she just wasn't listening.

"Close your eyes," Bonnie said again. "Take a deep breath, and feel the air around you."

"What do you mean 'feel the air'? It's _air_ ," Elena said exasperatedly. "It's not like it's doing anything special."

"There's magic in it," Bonnie said, trying to be patient. "Don't you feel any different after being unbound?"

"Yeah. I mean, I guess."

"Okay, and you feel that different kind of energy?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, so match it with the energy in the air."

Elena pressed her lips together in annoyance, but obligingly closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"Okay, so find the magic inside of you and try to match the sensation to the air," Bonnie said. "I feel a sort of a light pulling sensation, like something is gently tugging my skin away from my body. Do you feel that?"

"Yeah," Elena said, her eyes still closed.

"Good, so try to find that sensation in the air. Feel the air moving with itself."

She watched Elena as she frowned, her eyes tightly shut, before she smiled. "I did it!" she said, her eyes flying open, and Bonnie nodded.

"Great! So now, do it again, but try to sense the objects around you and how the magic surrounds them. Once you find the feathers, push them with your magic."

Elena nodded excitedly, shutting her eyes and biting her lip as she concentrated. Soon, the feathers were floating around the room, and Bonnie got up when Lara came back to let her in, Elena still levitating the feathers.

"Okay, let them down or you'll drain yourself," she said, her tone businesslike. She sat down and rifled through her purse before pulling out what looked like a plastic bag full of dead flowers. She took one out and handed it to Bonnie. "Let's see where you are."

Bonnie frowned at it for a second, frowning and looking back up at the other witch. "What do you want me to do."

"Bring it back," Lara said, as though it was the easiest thing in the world.

"What? Like, bring it back to life?"

"Have you not done that before?" Lara asked slowly.

"No. My family's dead, so I'm sorry if my magical education was lacking," Bonnie said, knowing she sounded a little bit defensive.

Lara grimaced. "Right. Okay. We have some work to do, then. Close your eyes and take a deep breath, and we'll get started."

* * *

 **Topeka, Kansas - Present**

Klaus pressed his hand gently against the small of Caroline's back as he led her through the private jet terminal in the airport, his new werewolves trailing behind them. Rebekah and Stefan walked behind the group to make sure that none of them tried to escape. Caroline seemed to have given up on shaking him off, smart enough to recognize that it was his way to constantly remind her who she belonged to.

He did enjoy the chase though, and was slightly disappointed that she'd stopped giving him the satisfaction, though he was sure that her sudden compliance was because she'd figured that out too. Caroline was clearly the passive-aggressive type, and it was rather amusing.

Once he knew how to make hybrids, Caroline would expect to be free (along with Elijah, alive and undaggered). He'd spent a few weeks trying to find a loophole in their deal. She was useful, at least so far, and she'd make a valuable ally. Her loyalty to Elijah seemed to be powerful and unwavering however, almost to a point of unnaturalness. He wanted her loyalty, her mind, and her body all to himself, and that would be an impossible task should Elijah return.

He'd noticed Rebekah trying to suppress her curiosity as soon as they'd entered the airport. He wondered if he could use that to influence her to bond with Caroline. The girl seemed to be rather attached to the idea of family, and if she and Rebekah got on well, then Rebekah would be able to convince her to stay on their side of things.

Caroline didn't hide her scowl as he offered her his arm to assist her up the steps to the jet though, tearing her arm away to grip the railing.

"No need to be testy, love," Klaus said, his hands in his pockets as he followed her into the plane. "Just trying to help."

"I don't need your help," she said, clearly trying not to sound too irritable.

"My apologies," he said unapologetically, his lips twisting into a smile. "I was simply attempting to be a gentleman."

She scoffed, stomping the rest of the way up, and Klaus did a quick headcount as the werewolves filed in after her, Stefan bringing up the rear. "Rebekah," he said softly, and his sister turned to him, her eyes still burning with rage at his behavior.

"What?" she snapped.

"Perhaps you'd like to get to know Caroline a bit better?"

"Why would I do that, Nik?"

"She could be useful. In addition, it would keep Elijah content after _we_ undagger him," Klaus said, knowing the use of 'we' would sway her a bit.

Rebekah did like being included in matters that weren't really her business.

"How would I go about doing that?" Rebekah asked slowly, and Klaus gave her a dimpled smile, pulling a phone out of his pocket that he'd had Caroline pick out at the store earlier, handing it to his sister. She frowned at it, blinking once before cautiously pressing the button on the front, looking faintly surprised when it lit up. "What's this?"

"That's a telephone, sweetheart," he said, trying not to speak too condescendingly. "I'm sure Caroline would be thrilled to show you how to use it."

Rebekah nodded absently, pressing a finger to the front and frowning as she experimentally swiped left and right a few times. "Move in to the aeroplane. I don't have all day, Rebekah."

"Sorry, Nik," she mumbled, speeding up the steps and into the jet before sitting down next to Caroline and showing her the device. "What does this do?"

Klaus watched as Caroline looked faintly surprised, covering it quickly and taking the phone from Rebekah's hand and unlocking it. "It's an iPhone. It lets you talk to people over long distances-"

"No, I know what a telephone is," Rebekah snapped, and Caroline looked a bit hurt. Rebekah seemed to gather herself quickly at the look on Caroline's face. "I meant to ask how to call people. That can't be all it does either. I've seen you on yours before and you weren't talking."

"It can write messages to other people, and you can download games and go on the internet."

"What's an internet?" Rebekah asked quickly, the curiosity obvious in her voice.

Klaus idly wondered when he'd started looking forward to seeing Caroline's bright smile.

* * *

 **Minneapolis, Minnesota - 1932**

"Father, what's this word?"

"Sound it out, my dear," Elijah said, not looking up from his book.

"I did sound it out," Caroline said exasperatedly. "What's a cholera?"

He tried not to wince at the 'ch' sound that passed through her teeth, looking up and setting his book down, moving over to sit beside her on the couch. "Cholera is a disease."

"So Mary's parents died from being sick," she said quietly, her words statement rather than a question.

"If they died of cholera, then yes."

"Why didn't they have the special soup?"

"Because it's a secret recipe," Elijah said calmly, the white lie justifiable for now.

Caroline had gotten quite sick after they'd moved for the first time, and after a bit of waffling over whether it would be safe, Elijah had made her soup with a bit of his blood mixed in, telling her to drink all of it. She had without question and immediately felt completely better, but had never probed deeper to ask how.

"Why don't you give the recipe to other people? Everyone could stop being sick," she asked with wide, confused eyes.

"The special ingredient could be dangerous if used incorrectly."

"Oh," she said slowly, turning back to her book and frowning. "Will you teach me to make it?"

"Perhaps when you're older."

"How much longer is reading time?" she asked abruptly, her eyes moving to glance at the clock.

As soon as he'd found her, Elijah had attempted to teach her basic maths and how to read, and it had become clear that she'd been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information he was trying to give her at once. After the initial near breakdown, he'd began to integrate the lessons into everyday life instead, including making an hour of reading time every night.

In the beginning, Caroline had been less than enthused. Sitting still for a _whole hour_ was torture, as far as she was concerned, and she had no interest in any of the books he brought for her (mostly because he hadn't had a clue what was age appropriate at that point).

Once he'd acquired some picture books, she was much more willing to learn (Winnie-the-Pooh was a particular favorite), and she'd caught on fast. She was seven now, and though The Secret Garden was most likely for children just a bit older, she'd insisted on trying it once he told her no.

Reading time was just before bed, and at this point it was difficult to tear her away from the sitting room once she'd started reading. 'May I finish this chapter' often turned into 'I forgot I was supposed to stop, may I finish _this_ chapter', and he'd started to hint that she might like to start earlier if she was going to insist on reading past bedtime.

"Forty-five minutes."

"How did my old parents die?"

He blinked, a bit taken aback by the subject jump, and she stared at him expectantly. He'd looked into her parents, of course. He couldn't just take a child without knowing her history. After finding her records, he'd debated when the right time to tell her would be. It was definitely a complicated subject to breach with a seven year old, and it might be easier to fill in as she got older.

For now, though, he would give her a basic answer.

"Your mother died because she had some business associates who believed that she lied to them."

"And my old father?" she asked.

"His body was never found," Elijah said slowly. "However, I had a friend of mine keep an eye on your old home, and he never returned."

"Oh," she said, and he saw her deflate, her lip trembling.

"I'm sorry, my dear," he said, trying to comfort her, and she sniffled, snuggling closer to him. He put an arm around her slowly, accepting the touch, and she wiped her nose with the back of her hand, making him wince.

"It's all right," she said quietly. "Thank you for taking care of me."

"You're my daughter. Why would I not?"

"You found me in an alley," she said, the unspoken truth that he'd just taken her in on a whim hanging between them.

"I love you as though you were my blood, Caroline. I'll always take care of you," he said quietly, and the big, surprised eyes she gave him made his heart break, as though she'd been spending the last three years waiting for the other shoe to drop, for him to send her away.

"Promise?"

"Always and forever."

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'm sorry for the very long wait! Do you think the Klaroline interaction works? How do you feel about Caroline's character and whether it matches up to who she is in the shows? Do you have a favorite part or line of the chapter? Do you like the little glimpses into her and Elijah's life?

Let me know what you think in a review! It's the only way I'll know ;)


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